DALLAS: The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 kicked off with an electrifying Group A match between the USA and Canada. Monank Patel, captain of the USA, won the toss and elected to bowl first.
Canada’s innings started explosively, with Aaron Johnson smashing the first ball of the tournament over extra cover.
His partner, Navneet Dhaliwal, followed with a boundary in the next over.
Johnson’s aggressive play continued, hitting three boundaries off USA’s Ali Khan in the third over, putting Canada off to a flying start.
However, Harmeet Singh struck back for the USA, dismissing Johnson when he attempted a big shot towards cow corner but was caught by Nitish Kumar.
Shortly after, Pargat Singh was run out, giving the USA another breakthrough.
Dhaliwal and Nicholas Kirton then stabilized the Canadian innings. Dhaliwal reached the first fifty of the tournament in the 12th over.
Kirton soon joined the party, hitting a six and a four off Shadley Van Schalkwyk to accelerate the run rate.
Corey Anderson made a significant impact by dismissing Dhaliwal with his first delivery and taking a sharp catch to remove Kirton in the 18th over.
Despite these setbacks, Canada finished strong with quickfire contributions from Shreyas Movva (32* off 16) and Dilpreet Bajwa (11 off 5), amassing 35 runs in the last two overs to set a formidable total of 194.
Chasing 195, the USA’s innings got off to a shaky start. Left-arm seamer Kaleem Sana dismissed the dangerous Steven Taylor for a duck.
Andries Gous and captain Monank Patel attempted to rebuild, but Canada struck again, with Patel falling for a run-a-ball 16 to Dillon Heyliger.
A productive 19-run over against Nikhil Dutta, featuring a six each from Gous and Aaron Jones, helped the USA regain momentum.
Jones then launched an aggressive assault, hitting Canada captain Saad Bin Zafar for a six and a four in the 10th over.
Gous and Jones continued their onslaught, dramatically increasing the USA’s scoring rate. From 81/2, the USA added 45 runs in the next three overs.
Jones hit three sixes off Saad in the 13th over, reaching the fastest T20I fifty for the USA off just 22 balls.
Gous followed suit, reaching his own fifty in the next over and surviving a scare when he was caught off a no-ball from Jeremy Gordon. Jones capitalized on the free hit, smashing his eighth six.
The pair brought up their 100-run stand off just 45 balls, bringing the USA back into contention.
The USA’s lineup included Steven Taylor, Monank Patel (c), Andries Gous, Aaron Jones, Nitish Kumar, Corey Anderson, Harmeet Singh, Shadley Van Schalkwyk, Jessy Singh, Ali Khan, and Saurabh Netravalkar.
Canada’s squad featured Aaron Johnson, Navneet Dhaliwal, Pargat Singh, Nicholas Kirton, Shreyas Movva, Dilpreet Bajwa, Saad Bin Zafar (c), Nikhil Dutta, Dillon Heyliger, Kaleem Sana, and Jeremy Gordon.
With the USA needing 195 to win, the match promised a thrilling conclusion.
Thanks to the stunning third-wicket stand between Gous and Jones, the USA successfully chased down the target, securing victory in their T20 World Cup opener against their North American rivals.
Comment