New Delhi, May 24: They say half a battle is won in the mind. And if that was the case, Delhi Daredevils were the clear winners on Saturday as they scripted a pulsating five-wicket win over the Mumbai Indians at the Ferozshah Kotla here on Saturday.

Needing eight to win off the last over, Dinesh Karthik (56 not out, 32b, 4x4) was the toast of the home team, his best score of the competition coming in testing conditions.

He, along with Farveez Maharoof (20 not out, 13b), showed nerves of steel, collecting 49 off 29 balls to guide the home team to safety. The win keeps Delhi’s semifinals chances alive, as they now have 15 points from the full set of 14 games.

Under fire from all sides for their up and down displays, the Daredevils can take heart from the fact it was the middle-order came that finally come good for them. Hit by early setbacks, the middle order came out guns blazing to put things past the fancied Mumbai Indians to reach 179/5 in 19.5 overs.

Eager to start with a bang, the big guns fell early — Virender Sehwag (18, 6b, 3x4, 1x6) and Gautam Gambhir (19, 9b, 2x1, 1x6) — going for over-ambitious shots.

Left with a mountain to climb, the middle-order batsmen stuck to the task. Sehwag’s absence did not matter, nor did they miss the daredevilry of Gambhir. Placed at 50/2 in 4.5 overs, it was the team work that won Delhi the battle.

Earlier, the Mumbai Indians were off to a rollicking start. Walking in to huge applause, Sachin Tendulkar and Sanath Jayasuriya kept the crowd enthralled with their superb opening partnership that set the tone for their innings.

The contest between Aussie legend Glenn McGrath and the master blaster made for an interesting duel. Faced with difficult questions, Tendulkar (18, 16b, 3x4) came up with glorious drives time and again to keep the scoreboard ticking.

Jayasuriya, on the other end, flexed his muscles and played at will. His knock of 66 (42 balls) included six hits to the fence and five over it. Pace bowler Brett Geeves, who replaced Rajat Bhatia, bore the brunt bowling a forgettable first spell of 2-0-26-0.

Sixes and boundaries flowed with ease as the duo raced to 50 in a mere 5.3 overs. Sehwag wasted no time, handing the ball to Sri Lankan quick Farveez Maharoof, who pulled the things back well. Conceding just three in his first over, Maharoof set the tone for the rest. The 19-year old Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh then bowled a dream spell to knock the wind out of the Mumbai Indians’ batsmen.

Yomi brought the capacity Kotla crowd on its feet extracting the prized wicket of Tendulkar in the eight over. The youngster got his due when he castled the master blaster, sending his leg stump cart-wheeling. Yomi was a bundle of joy and did not know way which was to run as he celebrated the big catch. He finished with figures of 4-0-36-4.

The soft dismissal of dangerman Abhishek Nayar — the man in form for the Mumbai Indians — dented the Indians’ chase, who now struggled to score. Boundaries dried up and even the singles were hard to find after a point of time.

Maharoof (1/27) provided able support sticking to a tight line and length.

The bastmen were also guilty of poor shot selection and were done in by some sharp fielding by the Daredevils. Robin Uthappa’s quickfire 46 off 23 balls however, helped the Indians reach 176/8.