Commonwealth Games: England 'gutted' after losing tense semi-final to India

England's hopes of winning Twenty20 gold are over after the home side fell to a four-run defeat by India in the semi-finals of the Commonwealth Games.

Opener Smriti Mandhana hit 61 off 32 balls, including three sixes, and Jemimah Rodrigues made an unbeaten 44 as India posted a challenging 164-5.

Captain Nat Sciver and Amy Jones looked like they might steer England home but Jones was run out for 31.

Desperate for runs, Sciver was also run out for 41 as England fell short.

India will face Australia in Sunday evening's final while England will play New Zealand for bronze at 10:00 BST.

"I'm gutted. It's such a small margin game, T20," said Sciver, who has been deputising as skipper for the injured Heather Knight during the Games.

"Any loss is tough to take, we obviously wanted to be in the gold-medal match and hadn't considered not [being in the final].

"It will be a tough afternoon, probably a few quiet people but playing for a medal is something we've wanted to do ever since we heard about the Commonwealth Games."

England head coach Lisa Keightley said: "We had a few nerves out there and didn't take our chances - dropped a couple of catches, missed a stumping and we were just a bit messy.

"With the bat we needed someone to kick on and put India under a bit of pressure."

Australia, the tournament favourites, beat New Zealand by five wickets with three balls to spare in the second semi-final.

Captain Sophie Devine made 53 and Amelia Kerr 40 in New Zealand's 144-7 but it was not enough, despite Lea Tahuhu's 3-20.

Beth Mooney top-scored with 36 and Tahlia McGrath made 34 before Ashleigh Gardner and Grace Harris completed the victory in a tighter finish than expected.

• Commonwealth Games day-by-day guide & schedule

• BBC TV, radio & digital coverage times

Mandhana attacks England bowlers

England won their group with three straight wins and demolished New Zealand's batting in their last match, but they had no answer to India's openers who attacked from the off.

Mandhana hit five boundaries in the first three overs to set the tone and raced to her half-century off 23 balls, clubbing eight fours and two sixes.

Sciver rang the changes in a desperate bid to stem the flow of runs and it was the seventh bowler who made the breakthrough, in the eighth over.

Left-arm seamer Freya Kemp dismissed Shafali Verma for 15 with the score on 76, but it was Mandhana's wicket they needed most.

It came one run later when the left-hander chipped Sciver's off-cutter to Issy Wong for a simple catch.

But Rodrigues and Deepti Sharma maintained the pressure, putting on 53 for the fourth wicket with Rodrigues - who should have been stumped by wicketkeeper Jones on 15 - going on to smash 44 off 31 balls.

Three run-outs hurt England

Sophia Dunkley gave England a decent start in reply, before falling leg before to Meghna Singh for 19.

Alice Capsey dived for safety attempting a second run but failed to ground her bat and was given out for 13 - the first of three run-outs.

After six fours, and with the pressure growing, Danni Wyatt scooped the ball onto her own stumps for 35 when looking to accelerate.

Sciver and Jones consolidated as England reached 113-3 after 14 overs, identical to their opponents at the same stage, but the India spinners were able to stifle the batters.

With England falling behind the run-rate, Jones cut the ball for four and then reverse-swept another boundary as England tried to get back on track.

But with hope growing among the home fans, Jones was run out going for a quick single and Sciver was left with too much to do.

The captain hit a six to leave England needing 19 off nine balls, but when she was run out attempting a risky second the game was all but over.

With 14 needed off six balls, Sneh Rana kept it tight and secured victory when Maia Bouchier could only get a single off the penultimate delivery.

Sophie Ecclestone hit the final ball for six but India were already celebrating.