Drysdale said it was a great toss to win on Friday and felt, overall, they had the better of the conditions.
Smith revealed he would have bowled had the toss favoured him.
On reflection, the BOP skipper said the partnership between unwanted ND Knights player Jono Boult (94 runs) and No 9 Campbell Thomas (45) to stop the rot that had set in on day one with the loss of 15 wickets was the turning point in the challenge.
"They took it away in our favour and that put time pressure on Hawke's Bay because with a bit more time they would have had a better chance because it wasn't beyond Hawke's Bay today," he said, after the hosts lost first-innings points on Saturday when BOP were 318 all out at tea in a defiant stance.
A grinning Drysdale, who had dropped to No 9 from No 1 because of his three-ball broken finger, said losing their opening batsman, Tim McRury, for a two-ball duck was a "nightmare start".
"That's the sort of thing that gets the opposition up and it was a great catch and it was really well read for Jake [captain Smith] to have a man at leg gully or leg slip," he said.
But it was a false dawn for the holders in their first defence since taking the cup off North Otago in Oamaru a fortnight ago, after they declared at 361-5 in 60 overs yesterday afternoon.
No 4 Graeme Tryon's unbeaten 143 runs was too little, too late yesterday but a promising sign of things to come from the side.
"Graeme was given out unfairly in the first innings so he was looking good but got unlucky and that happens in cricket," Smith said, saluting BOP's bowling.
"He's a talented player and he's got a big future so he definitely put us back in the game this morning really well."
He felt BOP brought a strong side down but his men would grow from the loss and experience to, hopefully, bounce back next summer with a win again.
It was fine achievement for Hawke's Bay to get their mitts on the cup this season, considering the last time was in 2007-08.
Drysdale and coach Graeme Aldridge had complete faith in their troops, mindful they had to ensure the pressure didn't get to them in the run chase.
The arrest after the loss of three wickets in 21 overs at tea came on the foundation of a brisk century from No 4 Ben Musgrove.
"Under pressure from Ben, a young guy who works hard, getting a Hawke Cup hundred is the next step to second XI cricket and first-class one."
Boult, he felt, was "hard done by and pigeon-holed a little bit" when it came to first-class cricket for ND.
"He's shown maturity. I know he's got it and he knows he has but to come out under pressure and do it for us is phenomenal on day one and two, which was a bonus for us."
He said the challenge was now to hold on to the cup, which meant a lot to them.
"Success breeds success so you've just go to let it go."
