Captain Mithali Raj led from the front with a fine unbeaten 91 as India beat defending champions New Zealand by 40 runs to secure their first-ever final berth in the women's cricket World Cup, in Potchefstroom, near Pretoria, on Thursday.
Riding on Raj's 91, India, who were put into bat, posted a challenging 204 for six in 50 overs before bowling out their formidable opponents for 164 in 43.4 overs.
In the final, to be played on Sunday, India will meet Australia.
It was sweet revenge for the Indians, who were beaten by Kiwis in the league phase, their only defeat in the competition thus far.
After putting up a fighting total, the Indians did very well to stop the New Zealanders from making a successful run-chase, with seamer Amita Sharma and off-spinner Nooshin Al Khader claiming three wickets each.
The tournament's leading wicket-taker Neetu David also chipped in with two wickets to fashion a memorable victory for the Indians.
The New Zealanders came under pressure soon after beginning their chase when as lost two quick wickets A L Mason (0) was run out and R J Rolls (8) was bowled by Amita Sharma.
Captain Maia Lewis (13) and H M Tiffen (11) then offered some resistance but the introduction of Al Khader in the 14th over turned the match India's way.
The spinner first had Lewis stumped by wicketkeeper Anju Jain and two balls later removed Tieffen, who perished offering a simple catch to Rumali Dhar in the slips.
From then on there was no stopping the Indians, who claimed wickets at regular intervals, though M Fahey came up with a fighting unbeaten knock of 73 off 94 balls.
Earlier, Raj, declared the player of the match, scored her runs from 104 balls with the help of nine boundaries to rescue the Indians after a shaky start.
India lost opener Jaya Sharma (0) in the second over and Anju Jain (11) in the 14th and were 38 for two. But Raj joined hands with Anjum Chopra (44) to steady the innings.
The duo added 66 runs for the third wicket before Chopra was dismissed in the 33rd over in a bid to step up the run rate.
Raj, who played some fine shots around the park, helped the side cross the 200-mark in the company of the lower-order players -- Hemlata Kala (18) and Jhulan Goswami (11 not out).
Fast bowler Racher Pullar was the most successful bowler for New Zealand, claiming four wickets for 39 runs.
Australia, on Tuesday, beat England in the first semi-final.
Scorecard
India:
A Jain c Rolls b Milliken 11
J Sharma C McGlashan b Pullar 0
A Chopra c Browne b Steele 44
M Raj not out 91
R Dhar c Rolls b Pullar 3
A Sharma c Mason b Pullar 3
H Kala c Milliken c Pullar 18
J Goswami not out 11
Extras: (lb-6, w-16, nb-1) 23
Total: (for 6 wkts, 50 overs) 204
Fall of wickets: 1-7, 2-38, 3-104, 4-127, 5-143, 6-182.
Bowling: Milliken 9-0-51-1, Pullar 10-2-39-4, Browne 10-1-36-0, Steele 10-0-31-1, Watson 9-0-31-0, Mason 2-0-10-0.
New Zealand:
M Lewis st Jain b Al Khader 13
A Mason run out 0
R Rolls b A Sharma 8
H Tiffen c Dhar b Al Khader 11
S McGlashan st Jain b David 23
M Fahey not out 73
H Watson c and b Al Khader 14
N Browne lbw A Sharma 2
R Pullar c and b A Sharma 14
L Milliken st Jain b David 2
R Steele b Goswami 1
Extras: (lb-1, w-2) 3
Total: (all out in 43.4 overs) 164
Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-13, 3-33, 4-37, 5-98, 6-126, 7-129, 8-153, 9-159
Bowling: Goswami 6.4-3-18-1, A Sharma 9-0-24-3, Dhar 8-0-34-0, Al Khader 10-0-39-3, David 7-1-28-2, Marathe 3-0-20-0.
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