Rahul Bheke's fiery header helps India draw 1-1 with Malaysia

India displayed good domination over the proceedings before settling for a 1-1 draw against Malaysia in their final FIFA Friendly of the year at the Gachibowli Stadium on Monday. In an action-packed first session, India were left in arrears in the 19th minute when a rather freak goal allowed the visitors to take the lead through Paulo Josue, a release said. Taken a bit aback by the unexpected development, Manolo Marquez's men stepped up the attacks and found the equaliser in the 39th minute when defender Rahul Bheke's powerful and accurate header off a corner crashed into the net leaving custodian Hazmi Bin very little chance to react.

A Friendly in the FIFA calendar is always fought fiercely, and the 33rd encounter between the two old Asian rivals was no different on Monday. While India came calling to find a win in the concluding International of 2024, Malaysia, under Spanish coach Pau Marti, looked for tactical domination on the pitch with clever interchanging of positions. Overall, all the ingredients were there for the entertainment of the 15,000-plus-strong crowd.

Marquez had his ideas in place, and he played his cards accordingly. He handed over the senior international debut to striker Irfan Yadwad, leaving seasoned Lallianzuala Chhangte and Farukh Choudhary his company upfront.

The Indian coach certainly picked up this opportunity to test his fresh resources in the international arena. After all, this was India's last match before they plunged into the bigger battle of the Asian Cup qualifiers next March. He handed over the international caps to three more debutants - Hmingthanmawia Ralte, Jithin MS, and Vibin Mohanan - during the course of the match.

The coach later said he wasn't exactly happy with the pace of the game but felt his team were capable of doing better. With the comeback man Sandesh Jhingan wearing the captain's armband, the Blue Tigers were making repeated inroads in the Malaysian area, but the goal against them left all their plans in near disarray.

In the 18th minute, A long ball in the Indian box caught the slightly advanced defence somewhat off-guard, but there was no reason for anxiety. But panic gripped everyone around on the ground when goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu rushed out of the box and missed the flight. As the ball was rolling freely inside the area, all the Malaysian striker Paulo Josue had to do was to jog in and tap the ball into the goal. More than a goal, it was like a nasty stab in the hearts of the Indian fans.

Thankfully, India woke up immediately and launched repeated raids to repair the damage. The much-awaited equaliser finally came six minutes before half time. The Brandon Fernandes corner kick from the right landed in the area with pinpoint accuracy, and as Jhingan ran away with the marker, Rahul Bheke came up with the crucial header, much to the relief of the partisan crowd. India's Brandon Fernandes was adjudged the Player of the Match. (ANI)