Expected the pitch to get slower: Hesson on Pakistan batting first

From the unique build-up to the unusual post-match scenes for this India-Pakistan game, what got lost was how both the teams read the conditions very differently.

Salman Ali Agha, the Pakistan captain, won the toss and chose to bat first on a fresh pitch, despite numbers looking the other way. The last time a Full Member team won after opting to bat first in a night game in Dubai was in November 2018, when Pakistan beat New Zealand. But head coach Mike Hesson offered an insight into why they asked India to chase.

"Not so much recent history but certainly longer term history, it does [make sense]," Hesson said of Pakistan's decision to bat first. "I guess over the last six games and even throughout the whole tri-series, sides won chasing. [But] there's not as much dew as there has been in the past, so dew's not really a factor.

"I guess these used surfaces, they're slow and they get slower. So in many ways, runs on the board the other day can help but we didn't bat well enough. So that's the reality, whether we batted first or second we weren't good enough at the bat. We left ourselves probably 20 or 30 short and we all know through those middle overs we got squeezed. So lots to work on against a good bowling attack but I was pleased with the way the guys fought hard in the field, albeit with a score that wasn't enough."

Once the ball got a little bit older, Pakistan's batters found it difficult to put the ball away. They tried to sweep their way out but lost 4 wickets for only 12 runs to the shot. All in all, India were able to bowl 13 overs of spin, picking 6 wickets for 65 runs.

Hesson said that it was a "frenzied" start from his batters, and while they were in the game until the powerplay, their inability to get away in the middle overs cost them the match.

"Look I think with the bat we were a little bit frenzied at the start. I think it's probably fair," Heson admitted. "You know the ball held in the surface as we expected but we didn't respond as well as we would like there. We got to the end of the powerplay and we were in the game and then we got squeezed and that built up a lot of pressure during the middle overs.

"I think the more big games you play the more trust you have in your own game and we've certainly got some players who are finding their feet but they certainly want to be in the battle and as I said we'll come back stronger in a few days' time."

India captain Suryakumar Yadav felt it was his spinners who made all the difference. Almost half the balls that Pakistan faced on the night were dot balls, 36 of them coming in the first 10 overs.

"They got 12 overs for everyone, it was a return gift for them," Suryakumar said of his three spinners. "But, see, they are working hard, you can see it in their practice, they want to prepare really well. And if you come on the ground, you can see how well they are prepared. And they are very clear with their plans and that's what I want, it makes my job very easy when I'm on the ground. They are happy with the fields, they are happy with the ends which they are bowling from. And it's good to see all the three spinners firing and very well supported by Hardik and Bumrah."

While India have a four-day gap before they take on Oman in Abu Dhabi, Pakistan play the UAE in Dubai in a couple of days' time and Hesson expects them to come back stronger.

"Look, I think today we were outplayed," Hesson said. "I don't think we can hide from that but we've certainly performed really nicely with the bat in recent times. We might not have huge names but we've got some quality players that scrap really hard for Pakistan and we've got over par on the majority of the games we've played with the bat.

"With the ball, we're finding new bowlers that are helping Pakistan win games, like Saim Ayub sort of getting back to his best, Sufiyan also had his moments. So look, we're not far off. We were soundly beaten today and we'll certainly go away and look at that but we're still very much in this tournament."