It is a format of moments: short, explosive encounters of the ball with the bat, in a single delivery, changing the course of a match. The outcome of the clash between Shreyas Iyer's Punjab Kings and Axar Patel's Delhi Capitals will most likely not be attributed to any single innings or even any single spell in ten beautifully contested 20 overs of high-altitude. These have been the duels the teams have dreamt of dominating, been broken down by analysts and been picturing in peace time between games.You can watch these games on Diamond Exchange 99. 

Battle 1: Cooper Connolly vs Kuldeep Yadav – Form vs Craft.

Cooper Connolly is indeed the most effective batsman for Punjab this season; the 377, the century, the cat-burgers swing, the runs that fall like manna and the side that is looking for solutions to their batting woes. Kuldeep Yadav is the bowler whose answers have these kinds of batters. The combination of the chinaman and a disguised googly has fooled the greatest right-hand hitters in cricket history with the left-arm wrist spinner. On the wicket of Dharamsala's actual surface, which is known to provide some consistency in turn, the battle may shape the mid-overs. If Connolly takes him apart, Punjab post 200 plus! In the case of Kuldeep getting the run, a wicket at a bargain price, the Delhi need to come back into the game.

Battle 2: KL Rahul vs Arshdeep Singh — Hunter and Hunted

Arshdeep Singh, in his batting in T20 cricket, has been faced with a complete deadlock in the duel as KL Rahul has hit 81 runs in just 48 deliveries (168.75) to emerge as the real winner of the match statistically. Faced against a bowler who can chart three other fighting lines with Arshdeep—including swing, slower ball, yorker and experience—this contest will be an interesting one to see if the lefty can find a way to beat Rahul's moniker, which is perhaps the most that has been established in history. Delhi's drive will be let down if Arshdeep discovers some loophole to letting him go for a nominal price tonight.

Battle 3: Shreyas Iyer vs Axar Patel 

The Captains' duel will be here. Now, if the captains face off against each other in battle! Axar Patel has made Shreyas Iyer match manager's strategy of being subdued has been the case mostly with him, as he has kept the captain of Punjab at around 138.98 strike rate against Kuldeep, who managed to power up Shreyas' bowling with an explosive 178.46 strike rate. In the middle overs, Axar would be looking at a match-defining contest with this fast pace coupled with their tight left-arm orthodox pace at Dharamsala surface which would benefit straight batters. If the Punjab captain isn't able to hit his batters fast enough, then this innings could lose its momentum at an opportune moment.

Battle 4: Yuzvendra Chahal vs Nitish Rana — The Record That Haunts

Nothing is as interesting as this for Yuzvendra Chahal – he has bowled Nitish Rana only six times in the entire history of the IPL – and made the six wicket maiden bowlers him six times. Rana hit 97 off an 81-ball against Chahal with a strike rate of 119.75, which is much lower than what he has been rated as. Chahal needs to come up into the batting if he is going to take ideas from Rahul in the middle order then otherwise it can go topsy-turvy if he manages to hit the ball first in Delhi's pursuit.

Battle 5: Marcus Stoinis vs Mitchell Starc — The Death-Over Decider

Then there's the final battle – where one Australian has the bat and the other has a 250.00 strike rate in overs 17–20 while the second has a wristy left arm pace in excess of 140kph, paired with a wicket-to-wicket yorker for finishing a man's evening early. Marcus Stoinis is firing at his opponents at the death this season. None in the world has the ability to stop that risk other than Mitchell Starc. With the score level at 110 the Punjab would post a brand new 210 if Stoinis were able to hit the score error three sixes in the 19th over. If he pins him LBW, with a good delivery (back of a length), the total is reduced to 185. Twenty runs. Three balls. This may be the margin the match could fall on.

Conclusion

The Punjab Kings are likely to slip just three of them beating out Connolly, Ranji and most importantly Stoinis against Starc. Those three wins in the big moments make the overall match result. Weight of statistical history and home advantage go shows on the kings according to Diamond Exchange.

Winner: Punjab Kings