James Taylor guides England to Tri-series final against Australia

James Taylor's industrious 82 from 122 balls helped England beat India by three wickets to make the final of the Carlton Mid ODI Tri-series against Australia on Sunday.

India's batsmen struggled to cope with the early bounce and pace on offer at the WACA. The openers, Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan, played cautiously for the first 20 overs and managed just 83 between them.

James Anderson, Chris Woakes and Chris Broad sustained pressure on India, with accurate early spells. Woakes was the first to taste success and dismissed Dhawan, who has struggled for form throughout the series, for 38 from 65 balls.

Rahane was India's stand-out performer with the bat, while the other batsmen struggled to come to terms with an impressive English display.

Steven Finn continued his run of form with the ball and ended with three wickets. Woakes, Broad and Moeen Ali claimed two wickets each, while Anderson collected one. India managed just 200 in their innings.

India's bowlers made it tough for England by staying accurate. England had lost half their side inside the first 20 overs for just 66 runs. It was then that Taylor and Jos Buttler dropped anchor and guided their team home.

Buttler kept hitting the odd boundary off remotely loose balls without taking any risk, which gave Taylor the time to accumulate peacefully. The duo hardly played an ill-advised shot through the run chase.

Taylor hit four fours in his match-winning innings, while Buttler hit seven. India's bowlers finally dismissed the duo two overs apart, but the damage had already been done.

Woakes and Broad easily scored the eight runs that remained for victory. The win put India out of the tournament and set up an England-Australia final at the same ground on Sunday.

"I'm delighted with the win and to make the finals, but credit to Buttler as well," Taylor said. "I was trying to concentrate when wickets fell, was struggling a bit and Buttler played an outstanding innings. I've been waiting to get some opportunities and trying to get my side over the line and managed to do that today. I knew if I was there till the end we were going to be around thereabouts. It was a decent cricket wicket to be fair and the bounce was interesting."