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India survived a brilliant hundred from Jacob Bethell and moved within one win of becoming the first ​nation to claim back-to-back men's Twenty20 World Cup titles after beating England by seven runs in a nail-biting semi-final on ‌Thursday, Reuters reported. 

India will also be chasing a record third T20 title when they take on New Zealand in Sunday's final in Ahmedabad.

Put in to bat in front of a packed Wankhede Stadium awash in blue, the hosts racked up an imposing 253-7 as Sanju Samson struck a commanding 89, supported by fluent contributions from Shivam Dube ​and Ishan Kishan, according to Reuters. 

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner wants his team to piece together their first "perfect game" of the Twenty20 World Cup when they face in-form South Africa in Wednesday's semi-final at Eden Gardens with a wound fresh in their minds, Reuters reported. 

South Africa remain the tournament's only unbeaten team and their seven wins in a row include a seven-wicket thumping of New Zealand in the group stage.

While that loss still rankled, Santner said the familiarity bred from that clash left little room for surprises, according to Reuters. 

South Africa may be in red‑hot form at the Twenty20 World Cup, but captain Aiden Markram said they will take nothing for granted in Wednesday's semi‑final against New Zealand, especially with his side moving to a new venue for them in the tournament, Reuters reported. 

The 2024 runners‑up are the only unbeaten team, winning all seven matches, five of them in Ahmedabad, and the victories include a seven-wicket thumping of New Zealand in the group stage.

"I wish cricket was that easy," Markram, who has often set the tone for his team in the powerplay, said with a wry smile at a press conference on Tuesday, according to Reuters. 

Como and Inter played out a 0-0 draw in their Coppa Italia semi-final first leg clash on Tuesday, where the hosts wasted a gilt-edged chance to take a lead into the return game while the visitors failed to register a single shot on target, Reuters reported. 

Como's Nico Paz forced Inter goalkeeper Josep Martinez into a save and Mergim Vojvoda sent a shot wide from a decent position in the area in a first half where the home side controlled the tempo and created the best chances.

Alex Valle should have put Como in front just after the break but the defender was left kicking the post in frustration after somehow sending his effort wide when Ivan Smolcic's cross found him unmarked in the six-yard box, according to Reuters.