Confident USA will meet cricket’s top-ranked men’s T20 side in a crucial Group A match in New York.
Who: USA vs India
What: ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Group A match
When: Wednesday, June 12, 10:30am local time (14:30 GMT)
Where: Nassau County International Cricket Stadium, New York, US
How to follow: Al Jazeera’s live text and photo coverage begins at 10:30 GMT.
Aaron Jones, the USA’s biggest player with the bat, will not be intimidated by the prospect of playing against some of the biggest superstars in the game when his side comes up against India in its ICC T20 World Cup Group A game in New York.
Jones, who played crucial roles in both of the USA’s wins in the tournament, said it will be “exciting” to compete against the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah at the Nassau County Stadium on Wednesday.
“Growing up as a kid, I always wanted to play against the best players in the world and I’m definitely going to get the opportunity to do that now – so it’s exciting for me,” Jones said on Tuesday.
“I’m excited to play against them, to talk to them, and definitely to beat them as well,” he added nonchalantly.
The USA will be riding on the wave of confidence and belief that they can beat the best teams in the world when they step out on the field on their home ground, but will be faced with the prospect of playing in front of thousands of Indian fans.
Jones said the crowd will support both teams.
“We have a lot of Indian players on our team as well.”
Several of these Indian-origin players in the USA side have played with and against some members of the Indian squad while growing up in India.
“This is the first time USA will be playing against India so they are definitely excited to play against some friends for sure,” Jones said.
Aaron Jones dominates as the top six hitter of the 2024 @ICC @T20WorldCup! 🤩🔥#T20WorldCup | #WeAreUSACricket 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/fmM4y7fcJU
— USA Cricket (@usacricket) June 11, 2024
Meanwhile, India are not planning to take the game “lightly”, according to their bowling coach Paras Mhambrey.
“Winning is a habit that you need to get into early,” he told reporters.
“This is the World Cup. Every game matters. Rhythm is important.”
Despite this being a home game for USA, Mhambrey said his team will have an advantage over the hosts, having played two tournament games and one practice game on the tricky New York pitch.
He urged batters to play with patience and work their way towards a big total.
“Every run here [New York] is very important.”
The pitch in New York has steadily improved over the past 10 days and despite offering plenty of assistance to bowlers, it has become relatively easier to bat on.
Captains winning the toss are still choosing to bowl first to make use of any added advantage in the morning.
There will be some clouds over the East Meadow region in Long Island, where the stadium is located, but the forecast is clear of any showers. Humidity will be above 50 percent.
The two sides have never played a cricket match in any format of the game.
Both teams are brimming with confidence after their 100 percent record in the tournament so far.
India are the top-ranked side in ICC’s men’s T20 rankings and have not lost a T20 series in 10 months both home and away.
Meanwhile, the USA also have a series win over Bangladesh to boast of as they meet the South Asian powerhouse.
USA: W W L W W
India: W W W W W
USA are expected to field the same side that has brought them two wins in two games.
Squad: Monank Patel (captain), Shayan Jahangir, Andries Gous, Nitish Kumar, Steven Taylor, Harmeet Singh, Corey Anderson, Milind Kumar, Nisarg Patel, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Ali Khan, Jessy Singh, Saurabh Netravalkar, Nosthush Kenjige.
India could be tempted to rest their star pacer Jasprit Bumrah and bring in one of their two spinners – Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal – who have not yet played a match in the tournament.
Squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
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