Abu Dhabi: Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq claimed the first Test against Sri Lanka here was “even stevens” after the match ended in a draw on Saturday.

“It happens in Test match cricket. The first two days we dominated, then they came back in the next two days.

“Just because they got out early in the first innings doesn’t mean that you can go and win. They really fought back well and, at the end, I will say it was even stevens for both teams,” Misbah said.

The Pakistan captain was of the view that he couldn’t have asked more from his bowlers, despite them only taking five wickets in Sri Lanka’s second innings.

“I think our bowling was outstanding in the first innings. In the second innings also, our bowlers bowled really well. If you see, they tried their best and bowled in the right areas,” said Misbah, who scored 135 in the first innings.

“However, all credit goes to the way their batsmen batted. They played really well — the ball did swing and even the odd ball seamed at times. But [Angelo] Mathews played really well in both innings.”

He did, however, feel there are several areas for improvement ahead of the second Test in Dubai, which starts on Wednesday.

“We have to work on things like [how] we were 350 for four and then 383 all out in the first innings. We should have taken the score to 450-plus.

“And after getting a lead we have to find a way to get the batsmen out. Yes, the pitch in the second Test will be different and hopefully we can fix that.

“The main difference here was that the spinners couldn’t do much on the fourth and fifth days and that was the case for both teams.”

The skipper was also pleased to see his batters come good, especially Mohammad Hafeez, who was struggling to find form in Tests.

“I think it is important for all batsmen to stay in good confidence. Hafeez was really under pressure after struggling all through last year in Tests.

“It was good that he could transform his ODI form into Tests. Today his batting and Ahmad Shehzad’s batting was a big plus. It is a good sign for us that Shehzad also got some confidence behind him.”

Sri Lanka skipper Mathews, whose defiant unbeaten knock of 157 took the match away from Pakistan, defended his team’s sedate approach in Saturday’s morning session.

“First of all, we had to make sure that we didn’t get into a losing position. We had to get to a position from where we could bowl them out.

“The wicket wasn’t doing much, so we had to get to that 300-mark and, as you saw, they got to the 50-mark quickly. So it was important to get to a good total,” he said.

“It was a see-saw type of a game. I felt the toss was crucial and, in the first two days, they had the upper hand.

“We really had to work hard on the third day and put up a fighting performance. We had just six batsmen in the dressing room and someone had to put their hands up. Myself and [Dinesh] Chandimal did that and we also made sure to put a total on board.

“I hope that I have justified my place in the team. It was quite disappointing at times when I had not gone on to build on my 50s and it was good to do that. Hopefully I can continue.”

Mathews also agreed with his counterpart that it was hard for the spinners to bowl on a flat Abu Dhabi track.

“It flattened out on the fourth and fifth days so it was a hard wicket to bowl on for the spinners. I thought Rangana Herath kept it pretty tight and bowled well. The way [Shaminda] Eranga and Suranga [Lakmal] bowled, I’m happy. They bowled the correct line and length and were always applying pressure on the Pakistan batsmen.”