New Delhi, May 15: Reeling under a four-match losing streak, the Delhi Daredevils weathered the Shahid Afridi storm, rekindling their quest for the semifinal spot with a much-needed 12-run win over the Deccan Chargers at the Kotla on Thursday. Spurring them on was Amit Mishra, the legspinner picking up five wickets including the tournament’s second hat-trick.

The Chargers put up a much-improved show with every player contributing to the total. Chasing 195 to win after a splendid display of batting by Gautam Gambhir (79, 48b; 7x4, 3x6) and Shikhar Dhawan (68 n.o., 52b; 8x4), the visitors ran them close courtesy a 14-ball 33 from the Pakistani dasher that included three towering sixes and two sweetly-timed fours.

But in the end, the visitors’ effort just wasn’t enough. Needing 15 runs needed off the final over, man of the match Mishra (5/12) ensured a smooth finish for the Daredevils with a hat-trick off the first three balls. With this win, the Daredevils are now level with Kolkata Knight Riders on points.

The Chargers started in blazing fashion with Afridi swinging his bat at everything. Up against his long-time mate Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist welcomed him with a smashing cover drive in his first over and then took a single to put the dangerous Afridi on strike.

Afridi teased the parsimonious veteran with front-foot defence and then drilled him through the covers off the backfoot to kickstart the onslaught. What happened in the next five overs left the bowlers gasping, fielders hapless and spectators on the edge of their seats.

McGrath got his revenge, when he dismissed the Chargers’ wicketkeeper-batsman off the first ball of his second over. But that proved to be the only positive aspect for the Daredevils in the powerplays as Afridi along with Herschelle Gibbs (22; 1x4, 2x6) unleashed their trademark repertoire of strokes. Mohammed Asif was bludgeoned for two fours and one six while Mahroof was launched over the cover boundary by the Pakistani dasher.

Gibbs went further and smashed McGrath with one hit to the fence and two over it. Afridi and Gibbs fell in quick succession to Mishra, but their blitz had ensured that the visitors got 71 off the powerplays. The visitors though lost their way in the middle overs with some tight bowling by Mishra. Rohit Sharma’s 18-ball 35 (3x4, 2x6) kept the chase alive for a while with two mammoth sixes off Rajat Bhatia, but his departure was followed with few quick dismissals.

The Haryana tweaker has been somewhat of a revelation for the Daredevils, with three great games in succession that were dominated by the bat. His dismissals of Afridi and Gibbs proved to be the turning point in a keenly contested game.

For the Daredevils, the game seemed to follow the script of their recent matches. Gilchrist elected to field first, knowing fully well that setting a target has not been Delhi’s strength since the second week of the league.

Sehwag flopped yet again, this time going for a duck. His 94 off 41 balls the last time the two teams met was a distant memory. The near-capacity crowd didn’t mind the early loss though. They had their eyes on Gautam Gambhir who has developed a knack of rescuing his side in troubled times, and he was off quickly with a gentle leg-glance from the middle of the bat off Paidikalva Vijaykumar.

Vijaykumar erred in bowing to the pads of a batsman in terrific form, but it was Rudra Pratap Singh that was dealt most severely with two sixes coming off him in consecutive deliveries. Gambhir charged down the track in the third over and smashed R.P. flat over midwicket. The next hit was even bigger and the ball ended up several rows back over deep square leg.

Sarvesh Kumar, who replaced Chaminda Vaas for this game, fared better than R.P. and only conceded two fours in his two overs. Scott Styris’s military-medium and Venugopal Rao’s uncomplicated off-breaks though didn’t enjoy any respect from the two batsmen. Dhawan was at his cheeky best, a reverse sweep that scurried to the fence off Rao in the ninth over testament to that. At the halfway mark, Delhi were 76/1.