Hong Kong and India will meet in a T20I match for the first time ever in cricket history tonight at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Both teams have battled in a couple of ODIs matches in the past, with the Indian cricket team emerging victorious on both the occasions.
In 2008, India registered a one-sided win by 256 runs against the Men in Red, but 10 years later, Hong Kong almost recorded an upset win over the Men in Blue. It will be interesting to see which team wins the first-ever T20I match between India and Hong Kong.
Generally, the stronger teams tend to give maiden international caps to some of their new players while playing against associate nations. However, India are unlikely to do that tonight because they do not have new players in the Asia Cup 2022 squad. Back in 2008 and 2018, India tried one debutant each in the game against the Men in Red. Here’s a list of those two names.
1. Manpreet Gony made his ODI debut against Hong Kong
Former Indian fast bowler Manpreet Gony started his one-day international career in a game against the Men in Red during the 2008 Asia Cup tournament. He played only two ODIs in his entire career, with one of them coming against Hong Kong. He bowled a disciplined spell of 0/11 in five overs, but Gony did not have a long career in the 50-over format.
2. K Khaleel Ahmed
K Khaleel Ahmed received his first ODI cap ahead of a match against the Men in Red during the 2018 Asia Cup competition. The left-arm fast bowler was the best fast bowler for India in that game.
The likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shardul Thakur failed to take a single wicket, but Ahmed bowled a spell of 3/48 and helped the Men in Blue win the game.
