ABU DHABI: With a stunning finish, New Zealand defeated England to advance to the final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

Daryl Michell was the hero as New Zealand defeated 167 in Abu Dhabi to advance to the World Cup final.

The Black Caps opener delivered a stunning knock, producing a brilliant late display of power-hitting as New Zealand raced through the gears to avoid a tense finish, winning with an over to spare.

The Kiwi chase had been hampered by Chris Woakes' two early wickets in the Powerplay. Devon Conway's steadying knock and James Neesham's quickfire 27 put New Zealand on top, with Chris Jordan's 16th over going for 23 runs to swing the match in New Zealand's favour.

Mitchell completed the job, hitting 25 off his final seven deliveries to win with an over to spare.

Earlier, in an occasionally shaky first inning, Ali and Dawid Malan helped England reach 166/4.

For much of England's batting effort, scoring was slow and steady, with openers Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler steady but unspectacular through the Powerplay, before Malan and Ali's partnership rebuilt the innings.

Late-innings big hits from Livingstone and Ali, who finished with 51*, helped England to 166/4.

But England needed a big effort from their bowling attack to tie down New Zealand in the reply, and they were unable to do so, missing out on a third World Cup final in a row.

Woakes continued his stellar performance in the Powerplay throughout the World Cup, giving England a big double breakthrough as they attempted to defend 166/4.

The England seamer had been hit for four by Guptill on the first ball of the chase, but he got his revenge two deliveries later when the Black Caps dangerman dropped the easiest of catches to Ali, giving England the much-needed breakthrough.

And, in Woakes' next over, Kiwi captain Williamson fell, looking to get going after a slow start and mishitting a ramp shot straight to Adil Rashid, leaving New Zealand two down early.

A tight Powerplay saw New Zealand reach 36/2 after six overs, with the Black Caps failing to score a run off the bat for 12 deliveries at one point.

Devon Conway and Mitchell led the rebuild in search of 167 for a spot in the final on Sunday, but Conway's outstanding 46 off 38 came to an end when he was stumped off Livingstone.

England's all-rounder bowled his entire four-over spell as Eoin Morgan targeted specific match-ups, and Livingstone relished the responsibility, dismissing the dangerous Glenn Phillips to finish with strong figures of 2/22.

New Zealand needed 109 off the last 10 overs, and with the required rate steadily increasing, it was clear that a big finish was required. And that is exactly what they got, with Neesham launching 27 off just 11 deliveries to put New Zealand back in the game.

Nineteen of Neesham's runs came off Jordan's crucial 16th over, which yielded 23 runs in total, just as a tense finish appeared to be on the cards.

Mitchell, who had anchored the innings for long stretches, joined the party by going big himself, racing to his half-century and finishing on an unbeaten 72 from 47 balls.

England had chances, with Bairstow almost pulling off a magical piece of boundary fielding.

But, unlike three years ago at Lord's, New Zealand had the momentum, and Mitchell hit three maximums – one off Rashid and two off Woakes – before finishing with a four through backward square.

Earlier, England chose Sam Billings to replace the injured Jason Roy, with Bairstow promoted to the top of the order alongside Buttler. After New Zealand won the toss, the new opening pair went straight into action.

During the Powerplay, England's openers negotiated the threat of early overs from Tim Southee and Trent Boult to lay the groundwork.

The scoring was slow and steady, with a boundary off the last ball of the first two overs keeping the runs coming. Buttler hit Boult for 16 runs in the fourth over, the first real indication of attacking intent.

Bairstow, who had looked out of sorts since being promoted to the top of the order, hinted at regaining his touch with a straight lofted drive off Southee in the fifth.

However, a shanked drive off Adam Milne's first delivery was brilliantly caught by Kane Williamson, dismissing Bairstow for 13 off 17 and bringing Dawid Malan to the crease.

And form-man Buttler was caught in front off Ish Sodhi shortly after the powerplay, dealing a huge blow to England's chances.

When Malan was dropped behind the stumps by Conway in a chance that the wicketkeeper would have expected to take, New Zealand blew a golden opportunity to get deeper into England's batting order.

Malan then led England's recovery through the middle overs, hitting 41 off 30 before bottom-edging a catch behind off Southee as he looked to race through the gears.

Eoin Morgan brought in the Malan-Moeen combination with the goal of generating spin in the middle overs.

However, New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson responded with some clever tactical bowling changes, using only one over of Mitchell Santner and going pace-heavy through the middle overs to keep the England pairing relatively tied down.

Needing a big finish to reach a competitive total, Ali and Liam Livingstone unleashed late on, with England finishing four down.

As a finisher, Livingstone's 17 off 10 did the job for his team, while Ali finished unbeaten on 51 off 37.

But it wasn't enough to keep New Zealand from facing either Australia or Pakistan in the final on Sunday.

Edited - SportsAction / Inputs - T20 World Cup