India was held to a 1-1 draw by Syria their last Intercontinental Cup match in Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Narinder Gahlot (18) scored in the 51st minute while Syria hit back with captain Firas Al-Khatib changing over a penalty in the 78th minute.

Having lost both their past matches to Tajikistan and North Korea, India were at that point out of clash for a spot in the last while Syria required a success to arrive.

India played a great part of the game with more unity than they appeared in the previous two matches, the two of which uncovered cautious frailties for new mentor Igor Stimac to understand. The different sides exchanged blows for what ended up being a goalless first half.

In the 51st minute, Anirudh Thapa sent in a corner kick from the right. Gahlot transcended the rest and headed the ball in and scored his first goal in his subsequent international trip.

India seemed to be on top after that. While chances were not many and far in the middle of, India commanded ownership in midfield and kept the pressure on the Syrians.

In any case, this changed after a somewhat ill-advised handle by Jerry Lalrinzuala, who had supplanted Mandaro Rao Desai just a couple of minutes sooner, constrained the arbitrator to give Syria a penalty. Firas stepped up and made no mistake with the spot-kick.

India lived dangerously after that and saw off waves of Syrian attack to win a point at the end of the game.