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USA and middle-order batter Aaron Jones made history on Sunday during their ICC T20 World Cup opening clash against Canada as the co-hosts pulled off the third-most successful run-chase in the tournament's history and Aaron re-wrote several record books with his explosive 94* in 40 balls.
With the help of an explosive 94-run knock by Aaron Jones and his game-turning century stand with Andries Gous, the co-hosts USA kicked off their ICC T20 World Cup on a high with a seven-wicket win over Canada at Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas, on Sunday. Aaron's knock had four boundaries and 10 sixes, with the runs coming at a strike rate of 235.00. USA chased down 195 runs, the third-highest successful run chase in the tournament's history, with South Africa's chase of 206 against West Indies (T20 World Cup 2007) and England's 230 run chase against South Africa in the 2016 edition being the second and highest most successful chases respectively. Also, after the West Indies legend Chris Gayle (11 sixes versus England in 2016 and 10 sixes against South Africa in 2007), Jones is only the second player to have hit 10 or more sixes in a T20 World Cup inning. After Gayle's 117 in 57 balls against South Africa in 2007, the inaugural edition of the tournament, Jones has the second-highest individual score by a player on T20 WC debut. He also overtook middle-order batter Justin Kemp's knock of 89* for South Africa against New Zealand in the 2007 edition of the tournament to have the highest individual score by a non-opener during a run-chase in T20 WC history. In this aspect, he has outdone stars like Joe Root of England and India's star batter Virat Kohli as well. The partnership of 131 runs between Jones and Andries Gous in 55 balls had a run-rate of 14.29 per over, the highest run-rate for a century partnership in the tournament's history. This partnership is also the highest fourth-wicket or below stand in tournament history, outdoing Wanindu Hasaranga and Kusal Mendis's 123-run partnership against Ireland in the 2021 edition at UAE, which was also for the fourth wicket. The score of 197/3 by the USA is also the highest total by an associate member of ICC in T20 WC history. An associate member does not enjoy the status of a Test cricketing nation. Coming to the match, USA opted to bowl first after winning the toss. A fine 43-run opening stand took place between Aaron Johnson (23 in 16 balls, with five fours) and Navneet Dhaliwal. At one point, Canada was 66/2 in eight overs. A 62-run stand between Navneet (61 in 44 balls, with six fours and three sixes) and Nicholas Kirton (51 in 31 balls, with three fours and two sixes) and a cameo by Shreyas Movva (32 in 16 balls, with two fours and two sixes) pushed Canada to 194/5 in 20 overs. Harmeet Singh (1/27) was the pick of the bowlers for the USA. In the run-chase, USA was at spot of bother, losing two wickets for 42 runs after a powerplay. However, a 131-run partnership between Aaron Jones (94* in 40 balls, with four boundaries and 10 sixes) and Andries Gous (65 in 46 balls, with seven fours and three sixes) took USA to a seven-wicket win with 14 balls left. Dillon Heyliger (1/19) was the top bowler for Canada. Jones became the 'Player of the Match' for his explosive knock. (ANI)
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