Man of the match James Taylor praised Jos Buttler for his influence at the crease during their crucial sixth-wicket partnership that helped England secure a place in the Tri-Series final.
Taylor, not feeling his best, and Buttler joined forces with their side struggling on 66 for five in pursuit of 201 required to set up a rematch with Australia at the WACA Ground on Sunday.
On a surface offering uneven bounce, the pair played the situation perfectly and shared a surperb partnership of 125.
Although Taylor and Buttler departed for 82 and 67 respectively near the end, England went on to secure a three-wicket victory.
Right-hander Taylor said: “I was trying to concentrate on my own game. I was struggling out there, I wasn't feeling my best. Jos Buttler's innings was outstanding, he kept me going and did a great job.
“I knew if I was there at the end we would be there or thereabouts. Thankfully Jos played an outstanding innings in the middle to help me go.
“It was a decent cricket wicket, the uneven bounce made it interesting. It gave the bowlers something to work with. It was a tough challenge but I am so glad we got over the line in the end.
“We are delighted with the win, especially to get into the final with Australia. Credit to Jos Buttler, an outstanding game from him.”
Handed an opportunity at number three during the pre-Christmas tour of Sri Lanka, Taylor has not looked back.
The Nottinghamshire batsman completed a fourth half-century in his last eight one-day internationals today.
He added: “I have been waiting in the wings for a few years now to get my opportunity and that is what I am here to do.
"I am trying to get myself settled in the side and trying to put in performances like that to win games. That is the most important thing, me trying to get my side over the line and I managed to do that today.”
On to the final. #raiseyourgame pic.twitter.com/9u07Sir0gX
— adidas UK (@adidasUK) January 30, 2015
England skipper Eoin Morgan was delighted to see Taylor and Buttler take control in testing conditions following a middle-order collapse.
He said: “We certainly made it difficult for ourselves. I think both sides battled with the conditions and it was difficult throughout the game, which we did not expect at the start of the game.
“I always had a lot of confidence that if guys got themselves in they would take on responsibility.
“It is an area of our game we have improved on over the last six months, and the guys showed it tonight. They were ruthless tonight when they got in, Jos and James were outstanding and ruthless in the chase.”
When asked about Buttler's brilliance, Morgan replied: I think there is a lot more to come. We have seen a lot of him in county cricket and in the nets you get to see his full repertoire, which is great to see.
"His talent is up there with anyone else in the world. Hopefully he will fulfil it.”
Win is a Win @ECB_cricket .. Starting to get a little bit of hope that this WC the team might just be Dark horses.... #ENGvIND
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) January 30, 2015
England now have the chance to secure a first victory over Australia, who they also face in their World Cup opener on February 14, in three Tri-Series attempts, a challenge Morgan and Co are relishing.
Morgan added: “It is a great opportunity to play in a final. Australia have been on a good run and it is always nice to play Australia because it is a good test of where you are at. Sunday will be no different.”
The defeat, their second consecutive loss to England in this tournament, leaves India without a victory on their tour of Australia.
Skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni said: “Maybe a few more runs initially would have helped us. But, to some extent, it was good bowling and poor selection of shots and we were under pressure.
“That is the main reason why we were not able to score maybe 40-45 runs more, the minimum we were looking for.”
3 - England have beaten India in three consecutive completed ODIs for the first time since 1996/97. Timely.
— OptaJim (@OptaJim) January 30, 2015