Australia through to World T20 final after beating England

The Commonwealth Bank Southern Stars will play for a fourth-straight World T20 title after a brilliant fightback with the ball saw them claim a thrilling five-run semi-final victory over England in Delhi.

Set 133 to win thanks to a superb half-century from Southern Stars skipper Meg Lanning, England appeared to be cruising at 0-67 after 9.5 overs in pursuit of 133.

Then, an exceptional performance led by Megan Schutt saw Australia take 7-50 to snatch a spot in Sunday's final.

Australia had spoken pre-game of the need to begin strongly with the ball, but their trend of disappointing starts continued against England, as Charlotte Edwards and Tammy Beaumont raced to 67 inside 10 overs before Kristen Beams finally struck, removing Edwards for 31.

It gave Australia a sniff, and the scent became stronger when Beaumont departed for 32, before Natalie Sciver was bowled around her legs by Ellyse Perry for a duck, leaving England 3-91.

It then became 5-103 when Heather Knight holed out to Elyse Villani, who just held on to a juggled catch, before the dangerous Sarah Taylor was caught behind for 21 having softly paddled an attempted switch-hit for an easy catch by wicketkeeper Alyssa Healy.

Big-hitting Katherine Brunt struck a huge six and a boundary to keep England in the hunt, but when she was bowled by Schutt, who then removed Jenny Gunn with a direct-hit run out one ball later.

England's bench contemplate their batting collapse // Getty

With 13 runs needed off the final over, Rene Farrell executed the role of finisher perfectly, allowing seven runs as Australia kept their hopes of a history-making 'four-peat' alive.

Schutt finished with 2-15 and Perry was impressive with her 1-20, while Lanning was a deserved player of the match for her half-century which guided the Southern Stars to 6-132, their biggest total of the tournament to date.

Openers Healy and Villani made their most positive start of the tournament, attacking the dangerous England new-ball pair of Brunt and Anya Shrubsole as they raced to 0-41 after five overs.

The start of medium-pacer Sciver's spell was an inauspicious one – the allrounder attended to by medical staff after copping a Katherine Brunt return throw on the temple – but given the all clear, she struck two balls later to have Villani trapped in front for 19 off 20 balls.

WATCH: Natalie Sciver bounces back from friendly fire

Healy followed an over later, trapped in front attempting to reverse sweep Marsh, bringing to an end what had been by far her best knock of the tournament to date, a 15-ball 25.

While Lanning was as brilliant as ever in her 55 from 50 balls, the Southern Stars could not fully capitalise on the strong start, with Perry dismissed for 10 and Alex Blackwell run out pushing for a second for 11.

WATCH: Classy Lanning leads Stars

Marsh (1-18) was tidy, justifying the decision to retain her in the XI in place of Rebecca Grundy, while Sciver took 2-22 from three.

Australia's opponent in Sunday night's final will be decided on Thursday, when New Zealand meet the West Indies in Mumbai.

Australia XI: Elyse Villani, Alyssa Healy (wk), Meg Lanning (c), Ellyse Perry, Alex Blackwell, Jess Jonassen, Beth Mooney, Erin Osborne, Rene Farrell, Megan Schutt, Kristen Beams.

England XI: Charlotte Edwards (c), Tammy Beaumont, Sarah Taylor, Heather Knight, Natalie Sciver, Lydia Greenway, Danni Wyatt, Katherine Brunt, Jenny Gunn, Anya Shrubsole, Laura Marsh.