MALAYSIA held India to a 1-1 draw at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in Hyderabad tonight, in what was the dress rehearsal for both teams ahead of the AFC Asian Cup 2011 qualifiers in January next year.

The hosts, fresh from their recent tour of Portugal, drew first blood through their star, Baichung Bhutia in the 65^th minute but Indra Putra Mahayuddin levelled the score 10 minutes later through a penalty after substitute Zaquan Abda Abdul Radzak was fouled in the box.

It was India’s last practice match before they start their campaign in the AFC Challenge Cup beginning July 30.

The two nations are scheduled to play each other in the Asian Cup qualifiers kicking off in January 2009. Completing Group C are heavyweights Uzbekistan and United Arab Emirates (UAE).

National coach B. Sathianathan said his team performed to expectations in their build-up play but were letdown by the final pass.

“The boys appeared tired due to the hectic schedule but I’m not offering any excuse. The tempo was fast and Baichung who took part in the recent All-Stars exhibition match in Munich was a constant thorn to our side. He opened the scoring with a header against the run of play.

“The draw was not a fair reflection of the match. We dominated the game and they were restricted to making two shots at goal.

“Our strikers had a few clearcut chances which were not converted while Hairuddin (Omar) was fouled in the box in the first half but there was no penalty,” said Sathianathan who is preparing the Malaysian squad for the Chelsea match on July 29.

The result may well boost Malaysia’s standing in the FIFA rankings as India are ranked at 153, 11 rungs higher than that of Malaysia.

Sathianathan handed Kedah left-back Shafizan Hashim his international debut, while recalling Hairuddin to the national set-up after a three-year absence.

He made six changes to the starting line-up. The team will return to Kuala Lumpur on July 24 after an eight-hour transit at Chennai.

Malaysia line-up: Helmi Eliza Elias, Fauzie Nan, Norhafiz Zamani Misbah, Aidil Zafuan Abdul Radzak, Shafizan Hashim (Asraruddin Putra Omar), Shukor Adan (Azi Shahril Azmi), Hardi Jaafar (Zairo Anuar Zalani), Amirulhadi Zainal (Ashari Shamsuddin), Indra Putra Mahayuddin, Safee Sali (Zaquan Adha Abdul Radzak), Hairuddin Omar (Nizaruddin Yusof).