Royals and CIL had both lost their opening matches and were eager to open their account but on the day, CIL seemed the hungrier of the two for most part.
They were in lead too for the better part of the game, before Royals hit back in the 83rd minute to snatch their first point.
On a slushy, slippery Bangalore Football Stadium turf, the goal was a testimony to their fitness.
CIL, who had lost their opener to BEL, attacked and attacked but lacked bite at the business end. They were ahead in the seventh minute when Pradeep latched on to a free-kick by Ravindran to beat Anish in the Royals goal.
CIL went on to dominate the first half while Royals hardly made their presence felt at the other end. Pradeep troubled the Royals defence with his pace and could have got his second goal but for his shot hitting Royals defender Prabhu in front of the goal.
Recovery act
As the match wore on, Royals, who had rallied from 1-4 before losing 3-4 to SAI in their opening match, began their recovery act. Thamarai Selvan, who stayed on the pitch despite taking a bad blow on the chest, triggered the revival with an excellent cross from the right, but Shin Dong Hun couldn't get his head to the ball in the centre.
As CIL focused on their attacks, Royals caught them on the counter, with Selvan causing the damage. He sprinted up the left flank and crossed into the vacant CIL penalty area. Goalkeeper Venkatesh was a trifle late in reacting and substitute Ranjith ran in to flick the ball over him and into the goal.
Royals almost scored a second goal when Shin set up Giri with a superb pass six minutes from time. But the latter drove it wide, much to CIL’s relief.
In Tuesday’s clash, ADE will take on Southern Blues.