India's Unity Cup campaign came to a disappointing end as they suffered a 0-1 defeat against Zimbabwe in the third-place play-off.
A first-half penalty from Prince Dube proved decisive as Zimbabwe secured third place, while India's campaign ended without a goal.
Head coach Khalid Jamil made four changes to his starting line-up, with Ricky Shabong making his first appearance in the starting XI just days after making his international debut as a substitute.
India entered the contest hoping to finish the tournament on a positive note, but Zimbabwe enjoyed greater control and appeared more dangerous whenever they moved forward.
The Blue Tigers' best opportunity of the opening half arrived in the 29th minute when Shabong produced a moment of quality, but Zimbabwe captain John Takwara produced an outstanding sliding challenge to deny him at the crucial moment.
The breakthrough for Zimbabwe arrived four minutes later, with Dube dispatching the spot-kick into the bottom-right corner as India goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu dived the other way.
India emerged after the interval with greater urgency and determination, but could not find a breakthrough as Zimbabwe held firm to secure third place.
India will next travel to Tajikistan to play two friendly matches against the hosts during the FIFA International Match Window on June 5 and 9.
