The Mumbai Indian slow bowlers -- JP Duminy and Harbhajan Singh -- kept AB de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan quiet for a fairly long time and just when it seemed that Mumbai might pull off an upset win, Tendulkar brought himself into the picture in the 15th over.
That one over cost 19 runs with De Villiers hitting three fours and a six, all at the mid-wicket area, to turn the match in Delhi's favour.
"We bowled well and fielded well but that one over changed everything," said Tendulkar at the post-match ceremony after Delhi Daredevils had registered a seven-wicket victory over Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League.
"With the slow bowlers doing well I thought that if I come in... I didn't want to give them the pace," Tendulkar said.
With five of their nine matches, Mumbai Indians are second from the bottom and a semi-final berth looks distant and Tendulkar agreed as much.
"We have been pushed to the corner. But all is not lost yet, we have to keep trying," said the Indian cricket legend.
Gautam Gambhir, who lead Delhi Daredevils in the absence of the injured Virender Sehwag, praised De Villiers' innings.
"It was important to carry on the momentum and we are happy that we did that," Gambhir said.
"De Villiers did a good job. Our target was to have wickets in hand and we managed to do that," he added.
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