To see what Mahendra Singh Dhoni means to Chennai Super Kings, one only has to look back at their last two matches. The defending champions look like a different side without their inspirational skipper to guide them on the field.

The defeat against Mumbai Indians saw their net run-rate slip into the negative and they will be keen to get back to No 1 spot when they take on current table-toppers Delhi Capitals in Chennai on Wednesday. And CSK will wait until match day to see whether Dhoni will be feeling well enough to play.

With just two games left in the league stage, the home side will look to roar back with victories to seal a spot in the top two and get the home comfort in Qualifier 1.

An interesting contest is on the cards between the top two teams in the league and a win for either side will help it consolidate its position and ultimately could have a bearing on where it finishes in the final standings.

Without Dhoni, CSK’s usually-composed batting line-up collapsed against MI and they lost the game by 46 runs to surrender their position at the top of the points table to Delhi.

“Sometimes, just getting jolted out of the rhythm can be a good thing. Coming down the business end of the tournament, there is a lot on the line each game, so we are well aware of getting the selections right. We want to be as consistent as possible. And I don’t see that changing,” said CSK coach Stephen Fleming.

The home team will be expecting influential all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja to be back in the mix too and that will give them a huge boost in spin friendly conditions.

Delhi Capitals, on the other hand, would be high on confidence having posted four wins in their last five matches.

Shreyas Iyer has done a good job of leading the team and has scored important runs. He will be keen to put on a good show once again and would also expect Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw and Rishabh Pant to find ways to score on a sluggish Chepauk track.

The spin-heavy CSK led by Imran Tahir and Harbhajan Singh could prove quite a handful for Dhawan and the rest of the Delhi line-up. Delhi has some good spinners but if Dhoni if around to guide the CSK spinners, it could prove to be an insurmountable challenge.

It will also be fascinating to see how the league’s top wicket-taker Kagiso Rabada does on CSK’s home turf, traditionally known to offer help to slow bowlers.

As expected, CSK have dominated Delhi in their previous matches. They have won 13 of the 19 matches played between the two sides. In Chennai, they have continued to look like the better side, winning 5 out of 7 matches against Delhi.

But this year’s Delhi is a very different side. CSK know that, so does Delhi and everyone watching.

Teams (from):

Chennai Super Kings: MS Dhoni (captain & WK), Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Shane Watson, Faf du Plessis, Murali Vijay, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Shorey, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Rituraj Gaikwad, Dwayne Bravo, Karn Sharma, Imran Tahir, Harbhajan Singh, Mitchell Santner, Shardul Thakur, Mohit Sharma, K M Asif, Deepak Chahar, N Jagadeesan (wk), Scott Kuggeleijn.

Delhi Capitals: Shreyas Iyer (captain), Prithvi Shaw, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Colin Ingram, Keemo Paul, Axar Patel, Rahul Tewatia, Amit Mishra, Kagiso Rabada, Ishant Sharma, Hanuma Vihari, Ankush Bains, Chris Morris, Sherfane Rutherford, Jalaj Saxena, Sandeep Lamichhane, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Nathu Singh, Bandaru Ayyappa, Colin Munro, Manjot Kalra.

Match starts at 8 pm.