Canada Set USA 195 to Win in T20 World Cup Opener

AFP/APP

Dallas: Canada set the United States a challenging victory target of 195 in the opening match of the T20 World Cup at Grand Prairie Stadium on Saturday.

Navneet Dhaliwal struck a well-paced 61 off 44 balls, including six four and three sixes after opener Aaron Johnson had set the early pace with an aggressive 23 off 16 balls.

Nicholas Kirton maintained the momentum in the back half of the innings with 51 off 31 balls and Shreyas Movva’s 32 off 16 was crucial in getting Canada to what looks to be a strong total in the Group A match with a strong finish.

After the pre-game festivities to mark the first ever World Cup game on American soil, the tone was set when the opening ball from Ali Khan to Johnson was driven crisply through mid-off for four.

USA captain Monank Patel had won the toss and invited Canada to bat first and Dhaliwal said he was pleased with the batting display.

“180-185 is par, we finished well but we have to bowl well. We have to bowl normal good areas, change of pace will help,” he said.

The USA is co-hosting the tournament with the West Indies with 16 of the group stage games being held in three American venues — South Florida and New York along with Dallas.

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