A late flourish from BLACKCAPS all-rounder James Franklin helped the Mumbai Indians clinch a five wicket thriller over the Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens.
Victory looked out of reach at 137 for five in pursuit of 176 but Franklin blasted an unbeaten 45 off 23 balls to seal the unlikely win.
With 21 needed of the final Lakshmipathy Balaji over, Franklin lashed four boundaries off four deliveries followed by a single leaving four required of the final delivery - His batting partner Ambati Rayudu hit a six.
In a man of the match effort, Franklin earlier took two wickets, removing opener Jacques Kallis for 59 and Yusuf Pathan for 36, to finish with tidy figures of two for 35.
Mumbai's win denied Kolkata second place in the table but both sides still went through to the play-offs stages. Mumbai ended up in third spot while Kolkata finished fourth.
The teams will meet in a rematch on Wednesday 25 May.
The other BLACKCAPS to feature in the finals are Daniel Vettori, captain of the Bangalore Royal Challengers along with Chennai Super King players Tim Southee and Scott Styris.
24 May 2011 - Qualifier 1: Bangalore v Chennai at Mumbai
25 May 2011 - Eliminator: Mumbai v Kolkata at Mumbai
27 May 2011 - Qualifier 2: TBA v TBA at Chennai
28 May 2011 - Final: TBA v TBA at Chennai
