Overall, the USA begin as the favourites.
It seems fitting, in a way, that the greatest World Cup in cricket history, with 20 teams, will begin with the oldest rivalry in the sport’s history. The United States and Canada faced off in a three-day match in 1844, long before Australia and England engaged in the first-ever Test match in 1877. Canada won that game in New York by a score of 23 runs.
The same two sides will play each other in the T20 World Cup 2024 opener in Dallas, one hundred and eighty years later. It so happens to be both teams’ inaugural T20 World Cup. Canada qualified by winning the Americas Qualifier, and the United States qualified as co-hosts.
Hopefully, the weather stays away in Dallas, since both sides are participating in their first T20 World Cup. There will be plenty of interesting storylines to follow.
It will be the first T20I at Grand Prairie Stadium on Saturday. However, Dallas is hardly buzzing, so it’s possible that the 7000 seats aren’t all filled. Furthermore, a thunderstorm may cause havoc, as it did during both teams’ warm-ups at this very location.
Still, on Saturday, USA will be the favourites. Even though they have only played seven Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) since the 2022 T20 World Cup, all inside the previous two months, their resume was impressive. Playing at home, they defeated Bangladesh 2-1 after first defeating Canada 4-0.
Corey Anderson, an all-arounder for the USA and a previous member of New Zealand, will become the fifth player to represent two sides at the T20 World Cup if the rain holds off. Harmeet Singh, a former India Under-19 World Cup champion who was previously hailed as Bishan Bedi’s successor, is also anticipated to be a vital player with the bat and the ball.
Canada has a left-arm seamer named Kaleem Sana, who was once able to remove Babar Azam in a first-class match in Pakistan. Jeremy Gordon, a 37-year-old bowler in associate cricket, is another member of their squad.