Despite losing their first Asia Cup 2022 against India on Wednesday, 31 August, the Hong Kong cricketers won hearts both on and off the pitch. Following the match, all-rounder Kinchit Shah proposed to his girlfriend at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
In a video uploaded on Twitter by the Asian Cricket Council, the Mumbai-born player was seen getting down on one knee and proposing to his girlfriend, whose answer was in the affirmative. The couple’s endearing rendezvous has since gone viral on the social media platforms.
As for the match, Hong Kong did well to keep the Indians under pressure at times, but the men in blue dominated major parts of the game and ended up securing a 40-run victory. Batting first, India had a slow start before Suryakumar Yadav played a scintillating knock.
The Mumbaikar scored unbeaten 68 runs from 26 deliveries with the help of six fours and as many sixes. Courtesy of his and Virat Kohli’s half-century, India managed to put up a commanding total of 192 runs on the scoreboard.
While Hong Kong never really looked comfortable in the run chase, Babar Hayat and Kinchit Shah did produce a fight against Bhuvneshwar Kumar & Co. While Hayat scored a 35-ball 41, Shah accumulated 30 runs in 28 deliveries.
With this knock, the 26-year-old has crossed the 650-run mark in T20I cricket, playing 44 matches for Hong Kong in the process. The all-rounder has also scalped 18 wickets in international cricket, three of which interestingly came against India.
Shah was one of Hong Kong’s star performers in their Asia Cup 2018 campaign, and in the match against India four years ago, he dismissed Shikhar Dhawan, Dinesh Karthik and Bhuvneshwar Kumar. However, he was not handed the ball on Wednesday.
Hong Kong qualified for the group stage of this competition after beating all three opponents in the qualification stage. They will now take on Pakistan at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday, 2 September.
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