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“The square block [in Dubai] as a whole I think has seen a lot of cricket over the last couple of months. We can see it’s pretty tired and that’s probably the reason why we haven’t seen a score above 300 in the tournament here so far. So we did a reasonable job, but we probably just lacked a couple of those partnerships just dragging out a little bit further to get us up somewhere near 300 or just above.”

Mohammed Shami, India’s skilful pace spearhead in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, did not deny it had helped him to play a series of matches on the same ground and the same pitch square.

“Because you are playing at one venue, you have an opportunity to get used to the conditions properly,” he said. “A lot of things … the way the weather was today, cool, your brain works even more. It can be said that it is a plus point that all your matches have been played at the same venue.”

Australia may still have beaten India in the knockout game had they extended one or two batting partnerships and then held all their catches. That in itself is extraordinary, given that Smith’s side was lacking Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood from the squad.

Marcus Stoinis retired rather than play the event, Mitchell Marsh is injured, and Matt Short was ruled out of the semi-final after picking up an injury against Afghanistan. Matt Kuhnemann, so destructive with the ball in Sri Lanka and recently cleared to bowl after an erroneous umpire’s report questioning his bowling action in that series, might have made a useful addition also.

That, too, is another big factor not only in this event, but the whole cricket calendar: Australia will send a far stronger group of players to the imminent Indian Premier League than turned out for the Champions Trophy. Cummins has been bowling this week in Sydney, while Starc has enjoyed the acquisition of a new ride-on mower.

India’s greatest advantage in Dubai, therefore, was not so much pitches as the gaps in the ranks of their opposition.

“We’ve got pretty good records in big games in ICC events and I thought the guys turned up and did a really good job,” Smith said. “It’s obviously a bit of inexperience in our team, particularly our bowling attack. Some new guys there who I thought did a really good job as well.

“So, they’re going to be better for the exposure to a big event and playing against world-class players like the ones we came up against today and throughout the tournament. So, plenty of positives to take from it.”

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