USA Vs Canada, T20 World Cup Highlights: Unstoppable Jones Seals Hosts' Seven-Wicket Win With 10th Six

Welcome to the highlights of our coverage of match 1 of ICC T20 World Cup 2024, played between hosts United States of America and neighbours Canada at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas on Sunday, June 2 (India time). What began as a tense chase subsequently turned into an Aaron Jones show, as the 29-year-old lit up the T20 World Cup curtain-raiser with a sparkling 94 not out off just 40 balls. United States banked on Jones' heroics to vanquish 180-year-standing rivals Canada by seven wickets in Texas. The hosts chased down Canada's target of 195 runs with 14 balls to spare. Catch the highlights of the USA vs CAN match at T20 WC 2024, right here. (Scorecard | More Cricket News)

The two teams have locked horns seven times in T20 internationals, and the home side holds the upper hand. USA have won five games, while Canada have emerged victors twice.

Of the four warm-up matches at the Texas venue ahead of the tournament proper, only the first one saw any on-field action as the rest were either washed out or called off due to thunderstorm/tornado alert (the USA vs Bangladesh game). As for tonight, scattered thunderstorms are predicted in Dallas, with a 40 per cent chance of rain during the day. It is expected to remain “mostly cloudy and humid” in the evening.

United States of America captain Monank Patel has won the toss and elected to bowl first against Canada.

Playing XIs

USA: Steven Taylor, Monank Patel (wk/c), Andries Gous, Aaron Jones, Nitish Kumar, Corey Anderson, Harmeet Singh, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Jasdeep Singh, Ali Khan, Saurabh Netravalkar.

Canada: Aaron Johnson, Navneet Dhaliwal, Pargat Singh, Nicholas Kirton, Shreyas Movva(w), Dilpreet Singh, Saad Bin Zafar(c), Nikhil Dutta, Dillon Heyliger, Kaleem Sana, Jeremy Gordon.

USA skipper Monank Patel: Bowling first because it's a fresh wicket and looks like it'll help the pacers early. Once we know the target, we'll have more clarity. (On hosting the World Cup opener) It's an amazing feeling. We've sacrificed a lot in the last five years and our journey has been incredible.

Canada captain Saad Bin Zafar: Surface is good, don't mind batting first. This is a World Cup, not a bilateral series, so the pressure will be on. We have a full squad, so confident we'll do well. Historic day for us. First time we're playing in the tournament, hope to do it with a win.

Minutes before the first ball, the opening ceremony for the T20 World Cup is underway. The two teams are walking out on the field, as are the umpires and match referee. Huge flags of both sides are unfurled, and the ceremony is followed by the national anthems.

The first delivery of the 2024 T20 World Cup is dispatched to the boundary by Canada's star opener Aaron Johnson. The right-hander smacks USA seamer Ali Khan through extra cover for a four. And the World Cup is off to an eventful start.

The big-hitting Aaron Johnson is off the blocks in double quick time. The Canada opener has scored 22 runs off his first 11 balls, which means that despite his partner Navneet Dhaliwal's sedate start (12 not out off 13 balls), the visiting team have put 40 runs on the board without the loss of any wicket in the first four overs.

After Canada's solid start, the hosts have struck back with two quick wickets to keep things interesting. Aaron Johnson (23 off 16) first holes out at long off, off Harmeet Singh and Pargat Singh (5 off 7) is then run out in the eighth over.

After a slow start, Navneet Dhaliwal has got into his groove and played some cracking shots through the off side to bring up his half century. Canada are well placed despite the two quick wickets, and will be eyeing a 170-plus score.

After a good run of overs in the middle phase of the innings for Canada, the United States are pulling things back admirably at the death. The hosts concede just 10 runs off the the 17th and 18th overs, and also pick up Nicholas Kirton's wicket to peg the Canadians back a bit.

The visitors' lower-middle order has chipped in with quickfire knocks at the back end to propel Canada to a more-than-competent total of 194/5 in the first innings. After Navneet Dhaliwal and Nicholas Kirton's fifties, Shreyas Movva finishes unbeaten on 32 off 16 balls as the USA face a 195-run target. We will be back soon with the chase. Stay tuned.

The chase begins on a shaky note for the United States, as the Canadians jolt them off the very second delivery of their innings. Left-arm seamer Kaleem Sana pins Steven Taylor in front and the umpire ruled the southpaw out. Taylor reviews, but the decision is upheld and the American opener has to walk back to the pavilion.

Jeremy Gordon is backing up Kaleem Sana's early wicket with some incisive bowling from the other end, as Canada are not allowing the United States top-order batters to break free. After four overs, the home team have 29 runs on the board and the required run rate has crept up well beyond the 10 runs per over mark.

After a series of tight overs, Canada lose the way a bit with the ball and United States capitalize. Andries Gous (33 not out off 30) and Aaron Jones (21 off 13) are at the crease and taking the fight back to the bowling. After 10 overs, USA are at 81/2 and need 114 more runs in 60 balls.

Boy, the USA have turned this on its head. After playing catch-up in the first half of their innings, the hosts have bounced back into reckoning with a series of lusty blows from Aaron Jones and Andries Gous. Both batters have crossed the fifty-run mark, with Jones getting there off just 22 balls, and the asking rate is now under nine runs an over with eight wickets still in tact.

The American team is now at the doorstep of victory. Andries Gous departs for a well-crafted 65 off 46, but USA need just 21 runs off 24 balls with seven wickets in hand. Corey Anderson now at the crease alongside Aaron Jones, who is still going strong.

A resounding 10th six from Aaron Jones' blade takes the United States to a seven-wicket win over a deflated Canada in Texas. What seemed like Canada's game for a vast stretch of the match turned into a canter for US in the end, thanks to some remarkable six-hitting from Jones. He finishes unbeaten on 94 off just 40 balls as the target of 195 is achieved with 14 balls to spare. And that marks USA's fifth consecutive victory over Canada in T20 internationals.

Aaron Jones: I don't think it is easy to put it into words. We know Canada come hard against us since it is a big rivalry. Happy to take the team over the line. (His thoughts at the halfway stage) With our batting line-up, knew anything under 200 is chaseable. Outfield and pitch were good and we knew that. I go through my processes and I like my power hitting. I know if I get it in the middle, it will go for sure. I like to come in when the team is under pressure, it brings out the best in me."

Saad Bin Zafar: 194 was a great total. I was pretty happy. We started well but (Aaron) Jones and (Andries) Gous batted exceptionally well and our bowlers had no chance. Pitch had good bounce and it did get better for batting in the second innings with dew coming in. We missed the line and lengths. No balls and extras, we shouldn't have given away those. We played an exceptional game overall. Good effort from the boys, this is just the start and hope we can do well in the next game.

Monank Patel: The way we've been playing against Canada in previous series...I thought it was a whole team effort. Gous and Jones handled the pressure situation, took the game away from Canada. (On USA's bowling effort) As soon as we bowled, the ball was coming well. We bowled well in patches but we gave 10-15 runs extra. (On conditions helping Canada seamers early) I didn't expect that in the first six overs. Pitch was two-paced too. (On Jones innings) We've always known, he has the game. He played fearless cricket and backing his shots. It was clean hitting. (On Texas crowd) Really happy to see the numbers. They were really energetic and hope they continue to support us. We want to continue the way we are playing. Don't want to change our fearless cricket whether we play Pakistan or India."

That concludes our coverage of the opening match of T20 World Cup 2024. We will be back in the evening with a live blog on the next game between West Indies and Papua New Guinea in Providence. Until then, goodbye.