The handshakes, both pre- and post-match, could scarcely have been more cordial. That much was no surprise.
The decision of Suryakumar Yadav and his India team to opt out of that particular convention last time out against Pakistan has been the dominant story of this Asia Cup. So much so that it has almost pushed the tournament to breaking point.
It was never likely to recur in their next match, against Oman. The last match in Group A was a dead rubber. Defending champions India have crushed all before them in their two previous games, and were nailed on for a clean sweep.
Oman, by contrast, are just grateful to be here. Almost all of their players never thought they would get a chance like this.
They are a new-look side finding their way after seeing almost all their first-choice line-up dispensed with over a payment dispute.
Those who are left are either rookie players of negligible experience or old-stagers like Aamir Kaleem and Mohammed Nadeem, two 43-year-olds who must have thought occasions like this had passed them by.
Kaleem, for one, should never forget it. He made a belligerent half-century in Oman’s uplifting – if ultimately thwarted – run chase. It was only ended, with him on 64, by a brilliant boundary-line catch by Hardik Pandya.
A smile is never far from the face of Jatinder Singh, the Oman captain. Never had it been as broad as it was ahead of the toss.
Jatinder is an India-born Sikh who moved to Muscat as a teenager, where his dad worked as a carpenter employed by Oman Police. He has always retained his affection for the country of his birth, so to captain his adopted one against them in an Asia Cup match was an ambition fulfilled.
So many fixtures in the Asia Cup are charged with spite – it is part of its appeal – but this game was definitely the opposite.
After winning the toss and opting to bat, with a lineup packed with Indian Premier League megastars, India could have inflicted carnage.
They didn’t, due to a combination of Oman pluck, and a little luck. That rare dismissal of a batter being run out at the non-striker’s end after the bowler diverted a drive back onto their stumps occurred twice. Pandya and Arshdeep Singh were both ended that way.
That limited the damage, as did the departure of Abhishek Sharma after 15 balls. The pyrotechnic left-hander had already hit 38 by that stage, so Oman were grateful to see the back of him.
No one else was in such savage mood among the Indian line-up. Sanju Samson, who has been light on time in the middle for some while now, at least remedied that this time.
The India wicketkeeper got 45 balls under his belt, and top scored with 56. It was unspectacular, but at least a decent tune-up ahead of the bigger tests to follow.
And they don’t come much bigger than what faces them after a day’s rest. Their next game, the second of the Super Four, is against their rivals from Pakistan on Sunday.
They were clearly not wishing to overly exert themselves against Oman. While Oman’s players started their warm-up in the scorching sun at 5pm, India’s had barely even limbered up half-an-hour before the 6.30pm start.
They briefly had to sweat in their defence of 188. Kaleem provided great resistance and put on 95 for the second wicket in just over nine overs with Hammad Mirza.
He deserved the ovation he got from the Indian supporters when he was dismissed. Mirza continued the counter-attack once Kaleem had gone, and made a half century of his own, but Oman eventually fell 21 runs short.
