KARACHI, Feb 19: Hosts Malaysia held Pakistan to a 2-2 draw in a practice game five days before the 10th World Cup is due to commence in Kuala Lumpur, reports said Tuesday.

Pakistan took a 2-0 lead through Kashif Jawwad and Khalid Salim but the hosts piled on the pressure and came back strongly to level the scores in the second half. S. Kuhan and Maninderjit Singh scored for the hosts.

Pakistan starts its World Cup campaign against South Africa Sunday. Pakistan is placed in a tough pool “A” along with defending champions the Netherlands, Germany, South Africa, Argentina, Belgium, New Zealand and Spain. Hosts Malaysia are in pool “B” with India, Australia, England, South Korea, Cuba, Poland and England.—SADA