India batted first and opener Smriti Mandhana’s remarkable 61 off 32 balls set the tone for the entire innings.

It was a batting display which was wonderfully correct and stylish.

It included eight fours and three sixes, with every blow greeted by huge cheers from the crowd.

"The reason we batted first was we wanted to utilise the first six overs and do well, the way she batted was outstanding to watch," Indian captain Harmanpreet Kaur said.

When Mandhana was dismissed at 77 for two, India briefly lost their momentum but Jemimah Rodrigues hit an unbeaten 44 to get the innings back on track.

Kaur's 20 and a cameo of 22 from Deepti Sharma helped India set a challenging target of 164 for five.

The frustrated reaction of Katherine Brunt to a dropped catch earned her a reprimand from the International Cricket Council (ICC) for using "inappropriate language".

England opener Sophia Dunkley started with two boundaries and when she was dismissed, England had already scored 28 in the first three overs and looked on course for victory.

Danni Wyatt added 35 with Alice Capsey for the third wicket and when Amy Jones and captain Nat Sciver put on 54 for the fourth, England were still favourites.

India made intelligent use of field placings to reduce the England strike rate.

"They made it hard for us ,they bowled really well," Sciver said.

Both Jones and Sciver were run out as the required rate crept higher.

Indian bowler Sneh Rana then produced a wonderful final over in a pressurised situation. 

She had Katherine Brunt caught by Kaur for a duck and when England were unable to pierce the field, India were celebrating even before the last ball.

Although Sophie Ecclestone struck it for six, it wasn't enough and England finished an agonising four runs short.

"It was a total team performance," Kaur said.

"I am happy people are coming out of their box and doing what they can do for the team."

"It is tough to take any loss really, we obviously wanted to be in the gold medal match," Sciver said after the game. 

In the second match, Australia beat New Zealand by five wickets to take their place in the final.

Their decision to put New Zealand in after winning the toss paid immediate dividends when talismanic opener Suzie Bates departed in the first over for a duck.

Skipper Sophie Devine struck 53 and shared a stand of 73 for the third wicket with Amelia Kerr, who scored 40 as New Zealand reached 144 for 7.

In the Australian reply, Alyssa Healy was soon gone for 14 and after skipper Meg Lanning struck a towering six, she was bowled by Lea Tahuhu.

The key partnership for Australia came when Beth Mooney and Tahlia McGrath added 56 for the third wicket.

 Mc Grath was run out for 34 and Mooney went for 36.

Grace Harris and Ashleigh Gardner took Australia to victory with three balls to spare to set up their gold medal match with India.

"We played them in the round games and it was quite a challenge," Australia bowler Megan Schutt said. 

"I guess we’ve played a fair bit of cricket against them and there is always an ebb and flow and moments where both teams are on top but in the clutch moments we hold on to them a bit better so hopefully we can string onto those moments.

New Zealand will play the bronze medal match against England little more than twelve hours after the semi-final.

"We always fight especially against Australia, we are really proud of the game that we put up," Bates said.

"It is disappointing but we are really proud, that sort of performance gives us confidence going into tomorrow."

The bronze medal match between England and New Zealand is followed by Australia versus India for gold later in the evening.