The West Indies will have to wait a bit longer for their first T20 International series win over India since 2017 after they were defeated by 60 runs in Thursday’s decisive third T20I at the DY Patil Stadium in Mumbai.

India batted first, posting 217-4 from their 20 overs before restricting the West Indians to 157-9 in their 20 overs.

It looked like Hayley Matthews made the right decision by choosing to bowl first after winning the toss when Chinelle henry got the wicket of Uma Chetry for a duck at the end of the first over.

However, that proved to be the last bit of success the Windies women experienced for a while as captain Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues added 98 throughout the next nine overs.

That partnership ended when Rodrigues fell off the bowling of Afy Fletcher for 39 in the 11th over.

Raghvi Bist then joined her skipper and the pair out on a further 44 before Mandhana went off the bowling of Deandra Dottin with two balls to go in the 15th over.

Mandhana made a top score of 77 off47 balls including 13 fours and a six.

That wicket brought Richa Ghosh to the crease and the wicket-keeper/batter played a massive part in India reaching their biggest total of the series.

Ghosh combined with Bist to put on 70 for the fourth wicket in just 5.1 overs before being dismissed with one ball remaining in the innings for a 21-ball 54 including three fours and five sixes.

In pursuit of 218 for victory, the West Indian chase started slowly with openers Matthews and Qiana Joseph adding just nine in the first three overs thanks to some accurate Indian bowling.

That built up pressure paid off in the fourth over when Joseph, after hitting a six off the previous ball, fell caught off the bowling of Sajeevan Sanjana for 11 off 13 balls with the score on 20.

In a change in the order, Deandra Dottin came in at number three and her and Matthews added 37 for the second wicket before Matthew fell caught off the bowling of Radha Yadav for a 17-ball 22 in the eighth over.

One over later, all West Indian hope seemed lost as Dottin fell for 25 off 17 balls, caught off the bowling of Titas Sandhu with the score on 62.

Shemaine Campbelle and Chinelle Henry, who came in at four and five, respectively, both batted well in their partnership of 34 for the fourth wicket before Campbelle fell caught for an 11-ball 17 off the bowling of Deepti Sharma at the start of the 12th over.

Henry was the best West Indian batter of the day, making 43 off just 16 balls to try her hand at overhauling the massive total put up by the hosts.

She hit three fours and four sixes before falling with the score on 129 in the 15th over.

Aaliyah Alleyne (6), Nerissa Crafton (9) and Shabika Gajnabi (3) all fell before the end of the 18th over as India closed in on the win and a series triumph.

In the end, the West Indies finished 157-9 off their 20 overs, losing by 60 runs.

Radha Yadav finished with 4-29 from her four overs.

Both teams will now turn their attention to the three-match ODI series on Sunday in Vadodara. (SportsMax) 

Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo on Thursday said that about 221,000 citizens registered for the $100,000 cash grant, and about 150,000 of those individuals have already been verified.

Jagdeo, during his weekly press conference, provided an update on the cash grant registration and distribution processes.

With registration and verification ongoing in Region Four, Guyana’s most populated region, Jagdeo said cheques are being printed for distribution. Additionally, thousands of public servants, members of the disciplined services, and pensioners have been accounted for too.

“(The distribution of the grant) should hopefully commerce over the next few days and hopefully completed before the end of the year,” Jagdeo revealed.

The registration process is also ongoing in several regions.

About 90% of the cheques to be distributed in Region Nine have been processed already. In Region One, over 16,000 citizens were registered and the distribution is ongoing.

In Region Eight, just about 6,500 individuals have been registered and the distribution is ongoing. Finally, in Region Sveen, over 12,000 persons have been registered but registration is still ongoing.

Jagdeo assured citizens that they will receive these direct transfers and that the government is focused on a transparent and accountable distribution process.

India battled hard to successfully avoid the follow-on against Australia and leave the third Test in Brisbane looking destined to be drawn.

The tourists were reduced to 213-9 on a rain-affected fourth day, needing 33 more to make Australia bat again.

However, last-wicket pair Jasprit Bumrah and Akash Deep played superbly and an upper cut for four from the latter took them past the follow-on mark.

That sparked celebrations from the batters as well as in the India changing room, where Virat Kohli was seen high-fiving team-mates and coaches, before captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Gautam Gambhir and Kohli led a standing ovation on the India balcony.

Australia had taken three wickets for 19 runs to set up the follow-on possibility, but the absence of seamer Josh Hazlewood – who is likely to miss the rest of the series with a calf injury – was felt as Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc tired.

KL Rahul, who was dropped from the first ball of the day by Steve Smith, made 84 and Ravindra Jadeja 77.

The five-match series is level at 1-1 after Australia’s 10-wicket win in Adelaide last week.

India must win at least two of the final three Tests to guarantee a place in June’s World Test Championship final at Lord’s.

Defending champions Australia will reach the final if they win two of the remaining Tests. They also have another series against Sri Lanka to achieve qualification. (ESPNcricinfo)