New Delhi : A foul inside the penalty box by stopper back Anwar proved costly as Malaysia held India to a 1-1 draw in the one-off ‘friendly’ at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

The home team, who played their last practice match before the AFC Challenge Cup beginning at the same venue, took the lead through Bhaichung Bhutia 12 minutes after half-time.

However, Malaysia , ranked 164 in the Fifa rankings, restored parity in the 80th minute off a penalty after Anwar brought down a Malaysian attacker. Indra Putra scored off the resultant spot kick.While the patchy display by the Indians did not exactly please the crowd, national coach Bob Houghton said it was a good match from the technical point of view. He was happy that defender Surkumar Singh and midfielder Ajayan, who remained injured for a long time, could play the match.

India, who played well in the first half, could not keep up the same pace. Three of India ’s key players — NS Manju, Steven Dias and Mahesh Gawli — continued to remain in the injured list a week before the start of the Challenge Cup. While the Indian team management is hopeful that Gawli will finally make the cut, Manju and Dias are unlikely to figure in the final squad.