Aaron Jones lifted co-hosts USA to their highest-ever run chase and a seven-wicket victory over Canada in the opening match of the T20 World Cup.
Half-centuries from Navneet Dhaliwal and Nicholas Kirton helped Canada set the hosts a target of 195 for victory at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas, on Saturday.
After the USA’s openers Steven Taylor and Monank Patel fell quickly, Jones teamed up with Andries Gous to put on a power-hitting clinic.
Jones belted 10 sixes en route to an unbeaten 94 from just 40 balls, while Gous added 65 to get the tournament co-hosts off to a perfect start.
The ninth edition of the T20 World Cup opened with a match-up between two countries who in 1844 played the first international. Canada won a low-scoring three-day game in New York that year by 23 runs.
Cricket had been a popular sport in the United States, particularly in Philadelphia, but was supplanted by baseball in the latter stages of the 19th century.
Now with T20 cricket, a format of similar length to baseball games, on the agenda for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the International Cricket Council hopes to attract a new and potentially lucrative audience by splitting the World Cup between the Caribbean and the United States.
Two-time champions West Indies open their campaign against Papua New Guinea in Georgetown on Sunday, live on Sky Sports from 3pm.
Watch every match from the Men’s T20 World Cup live on Sky Sports between June 2 and 29. England open up against Scotland in Barbados on Tuesday (3.30pm first ball) with Ireland playing India in New York on Wednesday (also 3.30pm).
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