India Red and India Blue are set to battle for the Duleep Trophy final to be played with the pink ball under lights in Greater Noida from September 10 to 14, 2016. “Definitely, I think Duleep Trophy is good preparation for the season(ahead). Unfortunately, our last match was a washout, but I am looking forward to the final,” India Red captain Yuvraj Singh said while addressing the media ahead of the match. India Red are the only team to claim an outright win the league stage while the Gautam Gambhir-led team come into the game on the back of a first innings lead. The first tournament of India’s 2016-17 domestic season has witnessed some of the best performers of the 2015-16 season compete in a new format. For the grand finale, India Blue’s lineup is boosted by the inclusion of Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja while India Red have Shikhar Dhawan, Stuart Binny and Amit Mishra. Speaking about Dhawan, who would be keen to perform ahead of the long home season, Yuvraj said, “Form is temporary and class is permanent. I think he is a very classy player. I am sure he will bounce back very soon. It is just a matter of one knock.” Discussing the pink ball, the India Red captain said, “I honestly felt that the pink ball didn’t swing much and didn’t get old. It was coming on to the bat very nicely. I don’t know how it is going to play on a turning track. Hopefully this wicket will turn. You will (then) see how the pink ball behaves on this wicket. Leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal and India Red’s chinaman, Kuldeep Yadav have been the top two wicket-takers in the tournament so far. Speaking about the ball, the India Red skipper further said, “I felt that picking the wrist spinner is a bit difficult. When I was standing in the slips I was finding that batsmen were actually struggling to pick the wrist spinners. I felt that pink ball didn’t swing as much as the red ball does after shining.” For the final he will also have the experienced Mishra among the ranks. Asked if the colour of the ball matters, India Blue’s Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored 166 runs in the previous game against India Green said, “As long as we are playing the same format of the game, I don’t think the colour of the ball will matter because ultimately you are looking to score big runs. You are trying to build the innings. He also added, “It’s challenging to pick the ball under lights but it’s not that you can’t. Ultimately you have to watch the ball and play. At times you have to accept the fact that some things might be challenging because when you are batting at 2 PM you are able to sight the ball really well. (Similarly) in Test cricket if you are batting in the first session and if the wicket is green you have to see the new ball through and if it’s turning track, the ball will spin. You have to adjust to whatever is in front of you. “It’s the final game so I would like to perform well. I don’t think there is any particular bowler that I would be sacred of or be conscious of. I think it’s very important to score runs and once you score a hundred you feel confident and now I can say that I have experience of playing with the pink ball after scoring a hundred so you know what to expect in this game,” Pujara said. Discussing the pink ball’s behaviour, India Blue coach, Aashish Kapoor further explained, “This is probably the experimental phase of the pink ball. Not many people know how it is going to behave that is why before a Test series such an important tournament has been held. Things are being tried out here. What we have seen so far is that because of this, the glaze on the ball which is a bit too much like the Sonex ball that used to be used (in the past). There is less turn for the finger spinners and whatever happens, happens for the wrist spinners and that too at night. It skids on a little bit more when there is dew or when it gets cooler.” Former India leg-spinner and India Red coach, Narendra Hirwani explained, “In the matches that we have played so far, the wickets had grass and the ball didn’t change much on those wickets. Now if this a turning track let’s see how the ball behaves. I think it will make a difference if it is a spinning track.” While the conditions – playing under light and with the pink ball are the same for the final - the match will be a five-day affair while the league games were four-day matches. Asked how different would it be in the last game, Pujara stated, “There is not a huge difference because ultimately you are playing a Test match. Probably, in a five-day game you will have a chance to come back if the things don’t go well in the first innings. The only difference in five-day cricket is you always have an opportunity to win the game.” Echoing the thought, Yuvraj said, “You have another day to turn things around; win an outright game. In five-day you have an advantage you can always bounce back I think it’s a very important game and everyone is looking forward to it.”