Cricket-India through to T20 World Cup final after semis washout

India reached the Women's Twenty20 World Cup final for the first time and sent England home when wet weather washed out the first of back-to-back semi-finals at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Thursday.

The rain was still teeming down at the scheduled start time of 3 p.m. local time (0400 GMT) and organisers officially abandoned the match just over an hour later with no sign of an improvement in conditions. India went through by virtue of topping Group A, while England finished second in Group B.

The second semi-final between Australia and South Africa is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. (0800 GMT). Under tournament regulations both sides must bat for at least 10 overs for a valid game. With no reserve day scheduled, Group B winners South Africa would go through to the final at the expense of the defending champions and hosts if the match was not completed.

Four-times champions Australia finished second in Group A after being upset in their first match of the tournament by India, who have now won all four of their fixtures. The final takes place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday with organizers hoping for a crowd in excess of 90,000.