“It will be an even contest,” said Baroda captain, Irfan Pathan while speaking about the day-night Syed Mushtaq Ali final against Uttar Pradesh to be played at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday evening. Both teams held their nerves in their respective last game of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Super League to qualify for the final. While the league matches were day games, the fight for the title will take place under lights which would mean different conditions to adapt to. Speaking about the conditions, Irfan said “The conditions are good. We have come to practice in the evening today (Tuesday) so that those who haven’t practiced under lights, get to do that. The strategy also could be different for the match. We will have to see if there is dew also. If there is dew, it can make a big impact in terms of chasing the score. I hope there is no dew so that we can have an even game.” If the breeze and the cool weather during practice on Tuesday were anything to go by, the conditions would help the seamers. Both teams have a good pace attack. Baroda have Irfan, Munaf Patel and others whereas UP’s attack is led by Praveen Kumar with Amit Mishra and Ankit Rajpoot too doing well for the team. Speaking about the contest with both teams having swing bowlers and big hitters, Irfan said, “UP has a fantastic team. (Suresh) Raina has been one of the prolific run-scorers in T20 cricket and there are other guys like Praveen Kumar and Piyush Chawla. There are lots of young cricketers as well who are doing well. It will be a pretty even contest tomorrow. I am sure we will enjoy and so will the spectators,” he added. UP captain Suresh Raina too echoed Irfan’s thoughts while speaking about the conditions and the team’s preparation as they look forward to the finale. “It is a day-night game so there will be a difference. In the evening, the ball will swing. It will be good for the seamers as they will be bowling in different conditions. We have a good combination and it is clicking well. Piyush (Chawla) and Kuldeep (Yadav) are bowling well. We know how to plan for the game as I have played with Irfan and Piyush has also played with Yusuf. At the end of the day, you need to play 40 overs really well and playing positive cricket is very important.” Speaking about the UP team which is riding on the confidence of being unbeaten in the tournament so far, the Baroda captain said, “UP are undoubtedly a talented side and our team is also very good. But it about going out there in the final and executing the plans. “ Speaking about his team, Raina said, “The belief is there that we can do well in all situations. Luckily we have won all three tosses (in the Super League) and we have been chasing totals. So I am feeling that tomorrow there might be a different challenge. “I am looking forward to play the final against Baroda. We have lots of India team-mates, so it will be a good competition. UP has done well throughout the tournament so we are looking forward to the game,” Raina added. He said that there will be pressure on both teams. “It will be difficult for the team that panics. There are new players in the team who haven’t played under lights so that will be a different exposure for them.” It is a key game for both captains as well as they look to help their team to the title. “It means a lot to me and everyone in the team to be here in the final. For me personally, it means probably everything because this is the highest level of cricket at the moment that I am playing. Everyone wants to go one step ahead and I want to do that as well. This match tomorrow will mean a lot to me, but at the same time, I know eventually it’s a game. I have enjoyed my cricket so far in the season and I want to keep continue doing that,” Irfan elaborated. “It is important to do well tomorrow. I have been batting well. Scoring good 25-30 runs at crucial times and giving a good start in the six overs and also finishing well. It feels like tomorrow will be my day,” said Raina, who will be heading to Australia for the forthcoming T20I series after the tournament.