Aaron Jones blasts USA to debut T20 World Cup win over Canada

Aaron Jones hit an explosive unbeaten 94 off 40 balls as the USA beat Canada by seven wickets in the opening game of the T20 World Cup on Saturday. Jones, born in New York but raised in Barbados, countered the Canadian attack, hitting ten sixes as he completely changed the momentum of the game in a superb 131-run third-wicket partnership with Andries Gous. Jones took complete control in the 13th over when he went on the attack against the slow left-arm of Canadian captain Saad Bin Zafar, hitting three sixes in one over.

Then the game turned decisively for the Americans when Jeremy Gordon’s medium-fast seamers made 33 in a disastrous over, with the Canadian adding to their misery with three wides and two no-balls, including a no-ball that nullified a possible dismissal. by Gous.

Former South Africa Under-19 batsman Gous made 65 off 46 balls before catching Nikhil Dutta’s midwicket, ending a partnership that took the Americans from struggling at 42-2 in the seventh over to close to the finish line at 173 -3 on the 16th.

Corey Anderson, the former New Zealand all-rounder, came along to accompany Jones, who fittingly ended the competition with his 10th sixth-place finish of the night.

It was the perfect start to the tournament for the co-hosts, with the crowd at the compact Grand Prairie Stadium roaring with joy as Jones crushed the Canadian attack on the field.

“I don’t think it’s easy to put it into words,” said Jones, whose 10 sixes are the second most in a T20 World Cup innings behind West Indian Chris Gayle’s 11 against England in 2016.

“With our batting line-up, we knew that anything below 200 can be chased. I go through my processes and I like my batting power. I know that if I get it right in the middle, it will definitely work out. I like to come in when the team I’m under pressure, it brings out the best in me,” he said.

Canada, also making their T20 World Cup debut, set what looked like a challenging target, with Navneet Dhaliwal making a good pace of 61 off 44 balls, including six fours and three sixes after opener Aaron Johnson set the pace opening with an aggressive 23 off 16 balls.

Nicholas Kirton maintained the momentum in the second half of the innings with 51 off 31 balls and Shreyas Movva’s 32 off 16 was crucial in guiding Canada to what looked like a strong total in the Group A match before Jones wreaked havoc.

“We started well but Jones and Gous batted exceptionally. Our bowlers didn’t stand a chance,” said captain Bin Zafar.

“Our bowlers got their lines and lengths wrong, and we shouldn’t have revealed the no balls and extras. We played an exceptional game overall. There’s nothing to be sad about, the boys’ effort was good. This is just the beginning and I hope we can perform well in the next game,” he said.

The USA co-hosts the tournament with the West Indies, with 16 group stage games being played across three American venues – South Florida and New York, along with Dallas.

India, Pakistan and Ireland also compete in Group A, with two nations qualifying for the Super Eight stage.

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