While Delhi will be missing their star batsman in skipper Gautam Gambhir, Chennai will take the field without captain MS Dhoni.

Suddenly, both Delhi and Chennai are leaderless. Worse for the hosts of Friday's game between the two here, they were absolutely pulverised by Mumbai on Wednesday, and mentally they would be in a bit of a situation. But given that the combinations of both sides have to be changed, it becomes that much more confusing for Delhi -- who to play, which foreign player to drop or keep, which Indian player to bring in.

It is simpler for Chennai. They are coming off a win and their change is simple. Wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel comes in to the team, and straight into the opener's slot as well.

Delhi seem to run more on instinct and are serious front-runners, in the sense that they need a big start while batting. The bowling had been good in the first two games, which afforded them some time to settle and score while chasing. All of that came apart on Wednesday when Gautam Gambhir lost the plot and asked Mumbai to bat. The result was there for all to see. Worse, the skipper pulled up lame with just 1.1 overs played and Dinesh Karthik suddenly finds himself in charge.

On the other hand, Chennai had put is past the Kolkata boys convincingly, with Mahendra Singh Dhoni scoring at a strike rate of 200 per cent. But that was negated by the arm injury to the captain while keeping wickets, which is expected to keep him out for a while. But his replacement, Suresh Raina, at least is heading a team which has the momentum, and he has had ample warning that his job profile has changed.

The Delhi team came up with a howler about how to call after winning the toss against Mumbai, so now they would be in a situation regarding how they should go about it. Given that their match on Friday is a day game, there would really be no change in the pitch. In any case, after that kind of walloping, Delhi would surely bat.

Another difference is that the Chennai middle-order looks more comfortable, as opposed to Delhi's which has had a lot to thank its openers for. The bowling also will need to be changed. Two leg-spinners, Amit Mishra and Sarabjit Ladda, are not a very good idea against a side full of left-handers. At the same time, the off-spinners that Delhi have aren't really top-notch.

It doesn't look good for Delhi, but this is 20-20 cricket. Things change in a flash, so there are never any favourites. It all boils down to how things go on the given day.

Delhi vs. Chennai
 
Played:            4
Won by Chennai:    2  (Winning % 50.00)
Won by Delhi:      2  (Winning % 50.00)

Approaching milestones
 
- Suresh Raina (879) is all set to become the third batsman to aggregate 900 runs in the IPL.  He would be joining Adam Gilchrist (1023) and Gautam Gambhir (901).
 
- Abraham de Villiers (593) needs just seven runs to complete his 600 runs in the IPL.
 
- Dinesh Karthik (492) requires eight eight runs to complete his 500 runs in the IPL.