pace

While the other three semi-finalists have had to balance a squad for the pace of Lahore or the skiddy bounce of Karachi, India have not.

Yet the crackdowns underscored the agency’s slow pace, showing license holders had been allowed to stay in operation many months if not years after investigators documented wrongdoing.

The team is still a couple of seasons from being a legitimate Stanley Cup contender but it has kept pace with Verbeek’s plan, which was to play meaningful games down the stretch this season.

The pace of the game was relentless from the first whistle in the dry conditions of the domed Allegiant Stadium, home to NFL side the Las Vegas Raiders.

And the biggest proviso is that the pace of Red Bull - for whom Verstappen won a fourth consecutive drivers' title last year - is particularly hard to divine.