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Harbhajan Singh bagged three wickets to help Mumbai Indians lift the Twenty20 Champions League title with a 31-run win over Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final on Sunday. The off-spinner removed hard-hitting Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli and Daniel Vettori as Mumbai dismissed Bangalore for 108 after scoring a modest 139 on a low, slow pitch where stroke-making was not easy. Yuzvendra Chahal completed with 2-9 off three tight overs.

Bangalore lost their way after Sri Lankan Tillakaratne Dilshan dominated a 38-run stand for the opening wicket off four overs with Gayle. Dilshan scored a 20-ball 27 before being bowled by compatriot Lasith Malinga (2-23). Mumbai, who were without star batsman Sachin Tendulkar due to a toe injury, won $2.5 million for clinching the title, while Bangalore took home $1.3 million.

Mumbai earlier looked like set a hard target after winning the toss when they reached 105-3 in the 14th over, but they lost four wickets for as many runs, with left-arm spinner Vettori taking two. New Zealander James Franklin (41) propped up the innings after Mumbai had lost both openers for 24 runs as he added 41 for the third wicket with Ambati Rayudu (22) and 40 for the next with Suryakumar Yadav (24).

But Mumbai suffered a twin blow when well-set Franklin and Yadav were run out in the space of three runs. Franklin hit two sixes and as many fours in his 29-ball knock. New Zealander Vettori then struck twice in his fourth and last over to put more pressure on Mumbai, dismissing Kieron Pollard and skipper Harbhajan for no score to finish with 2-30.Seamer Raju Bhatkal was the most successful bowler with 3-21, including two wickets in his third over.

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Young Arun Karthik turned out to be an improbable hero hitting a dazzling six off the last delivery of the match to power Royal Challengers Bangalore to the semi-final of the Champions League Twenty20 beating South Australia Redbacks by two wickets.RCB joins Mumbai Indians, New South Wales Blues and Somerset in the last four. The Redbacks had scored an imposing 214 for two in 20 overs, which the RCB chased down with two wickets in hand.

RCB celebrates after a thrilling last-ball finish against South Australia Redbacks to squeak through to the semis. With six needed of the last delivery, Daniel Christian bowled a slower one just outside the off-stump and Karthik, who plays Ranji Trophy for Tamil Nadu, waited for the delivery and swung it over mid-wicket as Redbacks players looked stunned.

A swashbuckling century by Daniel Harris and a smashing 70 from Callum Ferguson powered South Australia Redbacks to 214 for two in 20 overs. It looked like an imposing total, but RCB gave a appropriate reply good manners Tillakaratne Dilshan (74 off 47 balls) and Virat Kohli (70 off 36 balls) who added 100 runs in 8.5 overs before Tait came back to bowl an inspiring second spell.

Semifinal Matches:

SF1: Royal Challengers Bangalore v NSW Blues

SF2: Mumbai Indians v Somerset

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Champions League T20, Royal Challengers Bangalore is the only team without a point. Their net run-rate is so poor that even two wins in their remaining games may not be enough for them to progress. To make things worse, rain is forecast for Monday. Two matches have previously been abandoned in Bangalore, and another one will end Royal Challengers' qualification hopes.

The problem for Royal Challengers has been the bowling - they lost both matches despite scoring around 170. One man in the attention will be Dirk Nannes, the senior fast bowler in the absence of the injured Zaheer Khan. Nannes has been wicket less in both games, going for 71 runs in his seven overs. He will be expected to provide better support to Daniel Vettori.

Somerset, on the other hand, is the only winning team in the competition. Even if Monday's game is rained out, they still retain a good chance of making the semi-finals. They haven't been in the middle for more than a week, since the success over Kolkata Knight Riders on September 25. Since then, they have been bolstered by the arrival of Craig Kieswetter and Jos Buttler.

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Kolkata Knight Riders take on Warriors at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium here on Saturday. A convincing nine-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore on Thursday did boost KKR’s sagging morale, but Gautam Gambhir & Co can’t afford to relax. They need to register a big win against the South African side in order to stay in conflict for a spot in the semifinals.

“We knew we had to win both the games if we had to stay in the contest, and that the run-rate would play a significant role,” Gambhir had stated after Thursday’s victory. Warriors, on the other hand, will be hoping to keep their winning momentum. A nail-biting finish against RCB in their opening tie was followed by a convincing 50-run win against South Australia Redbacks. KKR will have to be on top of their game to beat this side.

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Davy Jacobs, Mumbai Indians wicketkeeper, has injured himself during a training session and will miss the rest of the Champions League Twenty20, his skipper Harbhajan Singh has said. Jacobs was stretchered off the ground after picking up a hip injury while batting in the nets on September 25, a day before Mumbai Indians' second match of the tournament, against Trinidad & Tobago in Bangalore.

Jacobs joins a long list of injured players for Mumbai Indians, which includes Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, Munaf Patel, Ali Murtaza, Suryakumar Yadav, Pawan Suyal, Dhawal Kulkarni and Aditya Tare. The franchise has been permitted to play five foreign players during the Champions League because of the number of injuries to Indian players.

With Jacobs injured, however, they now have only six foreign players in their squad. Mumbai Indians signed Jacobs in the January auction ahead of the 2011 IPL, after he had completed second in the run-charts during the 2010 Champions League. Jacobs just managed 92 runs in six innings during the IPL but impressed with his wicket keeping.

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The presence of Trinidad & Tobago is what makes the Champions League T20 a most unusual competition. They will know that MI, who is unhappily without enough Mumbai or Indian players, is tough opponents to draw in the first game. But then, Darren Ganga's men will also be aware that there are indeed no free lunches in this competition, not after the qualifiers were introduced.

T&T's chief strength is their simple approach to the game. In Adrian Barath and Darren Bravo they have two of the most brilliant batsmen in the Caribbean while pacer Ravi Rampaul has time and again showed that he should have played more often than he has at the highest levels.

Ironically, their biggest risk could come from one of their own, a man they unleashed in the same tournament in 2009. In the absence of Sachin Tendulkar and Rohit Sharma, the role of Kieron Pollard becomes even more crucial for MI.

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Royal Challengers Bangalore: It's likely to be a straight fight between Bangalore's batting might and Warriors' bowling strength. Bangalore have numerous of the most dangerous overseas Twenty20 batsmen in their line-up, as well as Virat Kohli, who has shown over the past couple of seasons that he can crack the game's shortest format, and Saurabh Tiwary, who made his name in the 2010 IPL with batting that was unpleasant but extremely effective.

Key Players: Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers

Warriors: One of the big worries for Warriors is that the man who was active in their march to the finals last year, former captain Davy Jacobs, isn't with them this time around, having chosen to play for the Mumbai Indians. Botha insisted the team could thrive without Jacobs, who repetitively provided explosive starts in the 2010 campaign.

Key Players: Mark Boucher, Rusty Theron, Makhaya Ntini

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