The T20 World Cup will begin from 2nd June at Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas, Texas. The host, United State of America (USA) will lock horns against Canada for the very first time in the history of the T20 World Cup.
Moreover, the old and uncommon rivalry between the two nations, during the pre-civil American war, will be rejuvenated. Moreover, both USA and Canada captains, Monak Patel and Saad bin Zafar, were born in India and Pakistan, respectively. So, this factor also adds another layer of excitement in the curtain raiser.
Team Overviews:
USA:
The USA will have an upper hand as they will be in high-spirit after routing the full-member Bangladesh side. In the recently concluded T20i series between the said nations was won by the USA 2-1. If anything, such performances and victory will boost the morale of the USA side coupled with the home advantage.
USA will be relying on seasoned campaigners like Corey Anderson, a player who broke Shahid Afridi’s record of fastest century in ODI cricket, Andries Gous and Harmeet Singh. Ali Khan also showed promise, claiming the player of the match award in the second game against Bangladesh.
Moreover, USA clean swept Canada earlier in April this year, as their batters went berserk over the Canada bowlers, punishing them left, right, centre.
Gous is surely a player to watch out for, as his attacking mindset and his ability to guide any quality bowl to the boundary, makes him special and treat to watch.
Anderson and Singh’s all-rounder ability coupled with Ali’s magical bowling makes USA a strong opponent for any side.
Nevertheless, USA’s captain Monak is suffering from a viral infection and couldn’t participate in net practice with the team. This factor might daunt the spirit of the side. Nevertheless, the captain is assumed to be fit before the 1st match of the mega event.
Canada:
On paper, Canada is not as strong as the USA are, but, on the field of cricket, you can expect magical and miraculous things to happen. Unlike the USA, the batting heavy side, Canada will be putting their hopes on their bowling lineup. The captain Saad bin Zafar, Kaleem Sana, Jeremy Gordon, and Nikhil Dutta would bowl at their best to keep the USA’s batters at bay. While the team also expects that Aaron Johnson will light up the Dallas stadium with his skilful yet fiery batting.
Johnson averages 50 in T20is and has a healthy strike rate of 166. He played a key role in the qualification for Canada and if team Canada wants to perform and win games, Aaron will have to keep on performing.
However, the absence of Rayyan Pathan, might hurt for the Canada side and the unavailability of the senior player will add an extra pressure of responsibility to the Canada’s batting lineup.
Pitch and Weather Report:
The average score in this stadium, during the Major League Cricket (MCL) was 167 while the batting side won 8 out of 12 games. The bowlers, however, might not enjoy the Dallas stadium as the new ball does not serve quite well under the lights.
As of the weather, an uninvited and unwanted guest; rain, is expected to spoil the play.
Head to Head:
Both sides, USA and Canada, have faced each other in 7 encounters in the shorter format of the game, with USA winning 5 out of them.
Prediction:
While the opening match of the T20 World Cup promises to produce some fascinating performances from the uncommon nations, the USA is a hot favourite to win this rejuvenated rivalry contest, because of their explosive batting and recent performances.
USA Vs CAN Live Streaming:
Pakistan – PTV Sports, Ten Sports, Myco (Live streaming), Tamasha app (Live streaming), Tapmad (live streaming)
India – Star Sports
England – SkySport Network
USA and Canada (Willow TV)
Caribbean – ESPN Caribbean
New Zealand & Australia – Sky Sports NZ, Prime Video
UK & Northern Ireland – Sky Sports
Sri Lanka – Maharaja TV
Other regions – SuperSport, Sirasa, CricLife, STARZPLAY
