USA steal thrilling win over Canada in T20 World Cup opener; star batsman Aaron Jones gets limelight

WASHINGTON: Host USA thrillingly defeated Canada in Sunday's opener of the T20 World Cup. The USA chased down Canada's target of 195 runs in 17.4 overs with the loss of just three wickets. Batting fireworks from Aaron Jones( 94* from just 40 balls) made the work easy for the host nation.

USA revived from an early scare after Kaleem Sana dismissed dangerous batsman Steve Taylor for a duck. Andries Gous and Captain Monank Patel then tried to mend things up and did a decent job. The 131 runs added by Jones-Gous for the third wicket made USA's victory easier. Jones, who faced only 40 balls, remained unbeaten with 94 runs including ten sixes and four fours. Andries Gous scored 65 runs off 46 balls with three sixes and seven fours.

After losing the toss and batting at the beginning of the game, Canada scored 194 runs for the loss of five wickets in 20 overs on the strength of Indian-origin Navneet Dhaliwal and Nicholas Kirton's half-centuries.

Dhaliwal put on a 43-run partnership with Aaron Johnson for the opening wicket, giving Canada a good start. Johnson, who scored 23 runs off 16 balls, was dismissed by another Indian origin in the US team, Harmeet Singh.