India went down 1-5 to much higher-ranked Oman at the Sultan Qaboos, Sports Complex Stadium, in Muscat on Thursday.
The friendly was a part of the Indian football team's preparation for the forthcoming AFC Challenge Cup.
Joaquim Abranches scored India's solitary goal in the 64th minute.
The manner in which the Indian team, missing as many as six first-team players from the starting eleven, showed character and created openings, deserves praise and the score-line belies the fight the team put up.
Joaquim's goal had teamwork written all over it. A Francis Fernandes cross drew rival goalkeeper Ali Abdullah out of his line and substitute Rahim Nabi pounced on the ball and headed it for Joaquim Abranches to dive and head home.
Abranches had another chance soon after but his powerful shot from the top box missed the target by inches.
Jewel Raja's first-timer late in the first half was a another good effort.
Oman, though, were, without doubt, the superior side. Ismail al Ajami scored a brace while Mohamad al Gasani, Hasan Rabea and Abdullah Thuwaini scored one each.
Two defensive lapses within the span of two minutes saw India concede two goals within the first seven minutes.
First, Gourmangi Singh couldn't leap high enough to prevent Mohamad al Gasani form heading the ball home, and then, the back-four left a yawning gap in the inner box for Ismail Alajmi to tap in from close.
Those two defensive lapses set the tone for the match, something the team never recovered from.
Changing over, it stayed the same as towards the fag end of the match, India conceded the last two goals within a span of three minutes.
