"Look, I'd be lying if I said it did [not affect us]," Arthur said when asked about the partisan crowd. "It didn't seem like an ICC event to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI event. I didn't hear Dil Dil Pakistan coming through the microphones too often tonight.

"So yes, that does play a role, but I'm not going to use that as an excuse because for us it was about living the moment, it was about the next ball, and it was about how we were going to combat the Indian players tonight."

The lack of green in the stands was partly down to Pakistani fans not being granted visas for the tournament. It wasn't too different for Pakistan's travelling media contingent. Until Friday, only three out of Pakistan's contingent of 60 journalists - from an original application long list of 355 - had been provided visas, that too after lengthy delays.

As a follow-up, Arthur was asked if such a situation should be allowed at global events. It's a question he dead batted. "Look I don't think I can't comment on that just yet," he said. "I don't want to get fined."

"Naturally that [a sea of blue] was going to be the case. We are really sad that our supporters aren't here," he said. "They would love be here and I am sure Indian cricket fans would love our supporters here as well.

"It was certainly unusual in that way, no familiar music for us today. So it did not feel like a World Cup game, honestly. We didn't expect anything else. [But] we love the occasion and we are disappointed that we did not do justice to the occasion or justice to our many fans at home and globally."