T20 World Cup, 2024
USA will be looking to win the T20 World Cup after opening match against Canada © Getty
After an unreal opening match that was fuelled by vice-captain Aaron Jones’ fireworks, the US returns to action after a four-day break. Known for being the biggest victim of upsets, the US is quickly becoming the team Pakistanis would want to avoid at the world stage. Most of the US team is a battle-hardened T20 side that plays 60-70 quality T20 matches a calendar year. That T20 muscle memory, a taste for higher risk tolerance and an overall adaptability to the format has carried the US to a historic series win over an inexperienced Bangladesh T20 team and of course a high-voltage encounter against Canada on Saturday.
The wayward Pakistan, runners-up in the last T20 World Cup, are now a shadow of their former self in Australia. Pakistan are coming into the World Cup having endured some pretty tough times on and off the field. A 4-1 defeat in New Zealand saw Shaheen Shah Afridi step down, which was followed by an embarrassing drawn series with struggling New Zealand at home. Pakistan also lost a match against Bangladesh and more recently suffered a heavy 2-0 defeat to England.
With the stakes so high, the US will be hoping their biggest name is Corey Anderson at the party. Shadab Khan and Haris Rauf, who last played for New Zealand in 2018, both duly praised Anderson’s ability to turn back the clock during their time together at San Francisco Unicorns in last year’s MLC. The former New Zealander enjoyed a prolific spell batting at an average of 47 and a strike rate of over 145.
While the US look a fairly solid team, Pakistan seem to be stuck with a combination conundrum starting at the top. Saim Ayub’s continued failures with the bat may force Pakistan to revert to the polarising opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammed Rizwan. Pakistan have also been unable to solve the Azam Khan enigma. Azam looked set to settle into international cricket after a few lively cameos in Ireland but was trounced in England by mediocre performances with both bat and gloves.
when: USA vs Pakistan, June 6, 3:30 pm GMT, 10:30 am local time, 9 pm IST
where:Grand Prairie Stadium, Dallas, Texas
What to expect: The high-scoring opening match was a spectacular display under floodlights. The ball seemed to fly off the bat and the shots were precise throughout the match. A day match between Nepal and the Netherlands saw a delayed start due to light rain, which made for an attritional game for the batsmen. However, Thursday is expected to be sunny and hot.
Team Watch
united states of america
USA captain Monank Patel missed Tuesday’s training session after developing a fever after the Canada match and is expected to recover by Thursday.
Predicted XI: Monank Patel (Cinematography & Editing), Steven Taylor, Andries Gauss, Aaron Jones, Corey Anderson, Harmeet Singh, Nitish Kumar, Jasdeep Singh, Saurabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan, Shadley van Schalkwyk/Nostash Kendzige
Pakistan
With Imad Wasim unlikely to play in Pakistan’s opener due to a side strain and enigmatic spinner Abrar Ahmed expected to join Shadab Khan in the hall of fame as the second spinner, Pakistan are faced with the tough decision of dropping at least one of Haris Rauf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammed Amir or Naseem Shah.
Predicted XI:
Babar Azam (c), Mohammed Rizwan (wk), Usman Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, Azam Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Abrar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf/Mohammed Amir, Naseem Shah
© Crickbaz
