Sri Lanka, Feb. 28 -- Teenage prodigy Shafali Verma helped India earn a nail-biting win over New Zealand Thursday and reach the women's Twenty20 World Cup semi-finals, as defending champions Australia inched closer to joining them.

New Zealand won the toss at Melbourne's Junction Oval and opted to bowl, restricting India to 133 for eight after 16-year-old Verma gave them a strong start with three sixes and four fours in a quickfire 46.

But they failed with the bat, narrowly missing their target despite a swashbuckling late charge by Amelia Kerr, leaving them on 129 for six.

After opening their campaign by upsetting four-time champions Australia, India beat Bangladesh, and their New Zealand victory made it three from three to ensure a s...