The first match of the tournament will be played between co-host United States of America (USA) and Canada (CAN). The match will be seen at 6:00 A.M. (IST) and 07:30 P.M. (local).
Teams Analysis:
United States of America (USA):
In the ICC T20 rankings, they are placed in 18th place and have a higher rate of success than Canada. They will be playing their first ever T20 World Cup and they will also host the tournament due to which they got the direct invite without playing the qualifiers.
Monank Patel the Indian origin player will lead the side. He is a pure batsmen and has a decent T20 record to his name. In 25 matches he scored 2 half centuries till now with the best being 68 runs. He has a strike rate of 130.86.
SteveTaylor, the opening batter of the team has played many T20 matches around the globe and in international he has scored one century and 4 half-centuries till now with a strike rate of 142.41. Aaron Jones, the other top order batter of the team. His stats is not that decent in comparison to the ODIs. in 26 matches he got just one half-century to his name and has a strike rate of 104.06.
The wicket-keeper batters of the team Andries Gous, carries a huge experience and much dependable batter of the team. With 1236 runs he scored one century and 9 half-centuries to his name. The strike rate of him surges to 137.63. The stats that he carries might be highly destructive for the opposition. Another one of the most destructive players and former Kiwi batter Corey Anderson, has shown huge dependency in the middle and death overs. With his powerful hitting he won many matches for Kiwi and now he is in a different country but the role is the same as before.
Nitish Roenick Kumar might be a key player for the team in this match as he earlier played for Canada and this might be helpful to huge the opposition easily. He also carries decent experience in this format and has a strike rate of 130.80 with four half-centuries to his name. Milind Kumar, earlier played for the domestic teams in India which will help him to stay much longer in the crease. He is one of the best all-rounder of the team. Though he didn’t play many international matches, in other T20s he has scored 6 half-centuries.
Ali Khan carries a huge experience in the shortest format as he played many T20 leagues around the world. He currently has 9 international wickets but his experience in the shortest format will help the team definitely. Harmeet Singh also played India in under-19 and also played in different states. He has decent stats in both departments and might be helpful for the team in the matches.
Saurabh Netravalkar and Jasdeep Singh, the two experienced pacers in the team might have an impact in the initial overs along with Ali Khan.
Probable Playing 11 of United States of America (USA):
Monak Patel ©, SteveTaylor, Aaron Jones, Andries Gous, Corey Anderson, Nitish Roenick Kumar, Milind Kumar, Ali Khan, Harmeet Singh, Saurabh Netravalkar and Jasdeep Singh.
Canada (CAN):
Though Canada played the ODI World Cup, this will be their first ever T20 World Cup as they will share the stage with other big teams. They are currently ranked 23rd in the ICC points table of the T20 format. Their cricketing career has been improved well and might provide shock to any big teams in the league round.
Saad Bin Zafar, the leader of the team has a decent T20 international career till now. He has been the all-rounder of the team but he got more success in his bowling as he took 43 wickets till now with an economy of 6.41. Nicholas Kirton, the batting all-rounder, shines in the practice match against Nepal where he scored a brilliant 52 runs in 39 balls. Though he is yet to get a half-century to his name in the international circuit.
Aaron Johnson is the opening batter of the team and is considered one of the powerful hitters that the team has. He has a strike rate of 166.58 internationally. He scored two centuries and five half-centuries to his name. Ravinderpal Singh is known for his destruction towards the death overs and has a strike rate of 147.25. He scored one century and one half-century in international matches. In the practice match also he got a destructive 41 runs in 17 balls.
Navneet Dhaliwal is a flexible batter of the team and can easily bat in any position. He can open or bat in the middle position and with the flexibility he has scored 870 runs in which 6 half-centuries were included. He is a highly dependable batter and most of the times he contributes with the bat for the team. Kaleem Sana didn’t play many matches for the team but his experience in the under-19 level as he played for Pakistan will be helpful for the team. In 16 matches he got 27 international wickets and is a left arm pacer.
Dilon Heyliger is one of the best bowlers in the team and this he already showed in the practice match as he got 4 wickets against Nepal in just 2.3 overs. He has 39 wickets to his name till now internationally. Nikhil Dutta, the off-breaker of the team has played plenty of T20 league matches and this will help him in the international matches. He has taken 24 wickets till now.
Probable Playing 11 of Canada (CAN):
Saad Bin Zafar ©, Aaron Johnson, Navneet Dhaliwal, Rayyan Pathan, Nicholas Kirton, Nikhil Dutta, Shreyas Movva, Kaleem Sana, Ravinderpal Singh, Dilon Heyliger.
Pitch Report:
The match will be played at Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas, USA. This match will be the first international match here. Till now 12 matches have been played here domestically where team batting first won 8 and chasing team won 4. Therefore it can be easily predicted a defending pitch and the bowlers will get huge assistance. Batting first average score is 167 while batting second average score is 144.
Weather Report:
The match is under the radar of huge rain as it is expected with scattered thunderstorms there will be a 50% chance of rain. Humidity will also be quite high and is close to around 70%. Temperature on the higher end will be 32 degree celsius while the lower is expected to be around 23 degree celsius.
Best 11 for the match between USA and Canada:
Monak Patel, Aaron Jones, Aaron Johnson, Nicholas Kirton, Andries Gous, Corey Anderson, SteveTaylor, Saad Bin Zafar, Harmeet Singh, Saurabh Netravalkar, Dilon Heyliger.