Harbhajan Singh bowls Mumbai into final

Harbhajan Singh claimed three wickets to help Mumbai beat Rajasthan by four wickets and qualify for the final of the Indian T20 tournament which will be played against Chennai on Sunday.

Batting first, Rajasthan were off to a solid start on a sluggish Kolkata pitch. Their openers Rahul Dravid and Ajinkya Rahane mixed caution with aggression and hit six boundaries in the first fiver overs.

Mumbai's captain Rohit Sharma turned to Harbhajan to break the opening stand and it worked. The offspinner dismissed Rahane in the seventh over for 21 and, two overs later, he had Shane Watson caught at square-leg.

Despite the double-strike, Rajasthan's batsmen played positive cricket. Stuart Binny played the aggressor and struck three boundaries in quick succession. But Harbhajan struck again in the 13th over and dismissed Rahul Dravid for 43. The blow proved costly as Rajasthan's run rate, which was 7.25 at that stage, dipped alarmingly after they lost wickets regularly.

Harbhajan was instrumental in the dismissal of Sanju Samson and Binny, both of whom he caught in the 16th over. A disciplined effort by Mumbai helped restrict Rajasthan to 165 in their 20 overs.

Mumbai's openers Dwayne Smith and Aditya Tare played impressively at the top. The pair added 70 in nine overs before Tare fell in the 10th. Dinesh Karthik and Smith held fort and took their side closer home. But tight bowling from Rajasthan prompted a collapse and Mumbai lost four wickets for 16 runs. Harbhajan and Rishi Dhawan, however, managed to take their side home with one ball to spare.

"It was one of those days where everything clicked," Harbhajan said. "I got a wicket in the first over itself and that gave me confidence. I like playing in Kolkata, it is my favourite ground to play cricket. We have one match to go hopefully we can play well and lift the cup."

Rohit said that his side had played impressively throughout the tournament: "We have shown character throughout the tournament and have won close games like this. We should have finished this game by the 19th over but when you lose wickets in the middle, it's always difficult."