The 9th edition of the T20 World Cup kicks off on June 2nd, with co-host USA squaring off against neighbours Canada at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas.
It will be the first-ever 20-over World Cup for both nations and hopefully, the contest will set the tone for what will be an important tournament for the sport.
Both teams recently met in a five-match T20I series, which was dominated by the Americans. The score was 2-0.
Team Previews
USA
Qualifying through host status, there were questions rising about whether they could hold their own against the more experienced sides, but their recent shock series win over Bangladesh has elevated them to becoming one of associate cricket’s hottest commodities.
Players such as skipper Steven Taylor and former New Zealand international Corey Anderson retain the characteristic dependence of the most of the novice sides upon their all-rounders. Additionally, pacers Netravalkar and Ali Khan will prove a challenge in the open grounds of the Caribbean and the States.
Canada
Once amongst the elite associate sides of the world, Canada isn’t even the best side of the continent currently. Though they have been inspiring in the 50-over format, evident by their performances in ICC CWC league 2 games, this good run hasn’t been able to be transpired into the shortest format.
Though they were impressive in their victory against a much fancied Nepalese side in their warm-up match. Similar to their opponents, Canada is led by an all-rounder, Saad Bin Zafar, who also happens to be their leading wicket-taker in this format.
Probable Playing XI
USA: Steven Taylor, Monak Patel (c) (wk), Andre Gous, Aaron Jones, Corey Anderson, Harmeet Singh, Nitish Kumar, S Van Schalkwyk, Ali Khan, Jasdeep Singh, Saurabh Netravalkar
Finding a winning combination across their last 2 series wins, we expect the US to not make much chop and changes
One might expect to see some changes in the batting order. If the openers manage to give the side a good start, Corey Anderson Harmeet might be given a promotion to maximise the score.
Canada: Aaron Johnson, Navneet Dhaliwal, Pargat Singh, Nicolas Kirtan, Ravinder Palsingh, Harsh Thaker, Saad Bin Zafar (c), Shreyas Movva (wk), Dillion Heyliger, Kaleem Sana, Jeremy Gordon
A volatile batting side, it’s tough to predict which batter will come at what positions except for Aaron Johnson. There is an outside shot for Dilpreet Bajwa to make it into the side with probably replacing Harsh Thaker.
Pitch Report
Built in 2008 having hosted both international as well as MLC matches, the Grand Prairie Stadium in Texas will oversee the tournament opener.
It has usually seen an equal contest between bat and ball, with average first innings score over the last 10 T20s standing at 162.
The Boundary sizes depend upon which strip is used for the game. Most likely, one of the sides will have the dimensions at around 75 metres whereas the shorter end will have boundary distances closer to 65 metres. We don’t expect dew to play a major factor.
Players To Watch Out For
Corey Anderson
A former Kiwi international, Anderson hasn’t had much time to set himself up in the new system, playing only 5 games for the Eagles. Though he has been finding his groove, top scoring for his team in one of those games while bowling with an economy of 5.5. Being the only member of the contest who has actually played in a World Cup, Anderson needs to use his experience of the big stage on the 2nd.
He is most likely to bat at the top 5 and has a shot at completing his quota of 4 overs. This should give an indication of how important he is to the team’s gameplan
Aaron Johnson
The man from Jamaica, Aaron Johnson, has been spectacular in his 16-game T20I career. A hard-hitting opener capable of playing the long game, Aaron has scored his runs at an average of 50.93 with an astonishing strike rate of 166.59.
Moreover he was the only batter from his side who was able to score his runs at an acceptable rate when the two sides met in a 5 match series earlier this year.
With USA’s new ball bowlers, Ali Khan and Netravalkar in red-hot form, Johnson’s role in the match’s outcome increases by tenfolds.
USA vs CAN Dream11 Team for Match 1 of T20 WC 2024
Wicket Keeper: Monak Patel
Batters: Aaron Jones, Aaron Johnson, Nicholas Kirton
All-Rounders: Corey Anderson, Steven Taylor (c), Saad Zafar (vc), Shadley van Schalkwyk
Bowlers: Harmeet Singh, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan
Note:Â This is not our final Dream11 Team as we are not aware of the Toss Result and Final Playing XI at this moment.
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