Old rivals Sachin Tendulkar and Glenn McGrath were involved in a short and sharp exchange on the field during the rain-hit India-Australia tri-series match in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.

Tendulkar, who announced his return to international cricket after a six-month lay-off with an unbeaten 141 against the West Indies, had friendly banter with his arch-rival McGrath during his brief knock.

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The 33-year-old batsman looked tentative to start with and was hit on the helmet when he ducked into a shorter one from McGrath.

He then survived a leg before shout off Mitchel Johnson.

But he exorcised his demons by stepping out and clubbing, although somewhat unconvincingly, McGrath to midwicket fence.

The 36-year-old speedster, not one to let go an opportunity to indulge in a verbal exchange, walked across the pitch to convey his thoughts to the batsman, who responded with a mix of words and smile to the great Aussie.

The honour of claiming Tendulkar's scalp, however, belonged to the 24-year old Johnson.

The left-arm pacer lured the ace batsman into a tentative drive for a catch behind for 12.

It was one of Johnson's four wickets and India, after being reduced to 35-5 after eight overs, were saved by the rain.