Just a day before the match, Irfan Pathan is staying away from bowling or other strenuous exercises, while Suresh Raina, who is not in a position of taking any chance, is continuously batting for the longer periods.
    
Though the two captains of the state team have different style of work ethics and different journeys, their common goal is to win Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy.  

Interstate tournament final, between the two top teams Baroda and Uttar Pradesh, will be held today, at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.

Before making it to the title clash, Raina’s outfit was the dominant force in the tournament, having won all the eight games (5/5 in the first round, 3/3 in the Super League) in the two phases of the league.

Coming to Irfan’s side, even they could do well, after they managed to edge out Mumbai in the last Super League encounter to help them reach the final on a better net run rate.

Both teams have an exciting line-up with a mix of youth and experience. If Uttar Pradesh have seasoned players in Raina, Piyush Chawla, Praveen Kumar, then Baroda have the likes of Pathan brothers to counter them.

However, it will be the youngsters like Baroda big hitters like Hardik Pandya and Deepak Hooda, who would be the actual crowd pullers. For UP, the talented Samarth Singh, Umang Sharma or an Amit Mishra will cover up as the youth force.

With the kind of talent and skills at the disposal the T20 encounter is likely to go down the wire.

By Phani Ch