Cricket was once very popular in the US, and thanks to the ICC T20 World Cup, it seems to be making a comeback. Interestingly, the idea for Cricinfo, cricket’s prime website, came from an American. Simon King, a student at the University of Minnesota, thought of creating a site with live cricket scores. This story shows cricket’s deep connection with the US.
Cricinfo has a section that predicts match results. In the opening match of this T20 World Cup, it gave the US only a 5.65% chance of winning after eight overs of their innings. At that point, the US had scored just 48 runs, needing another 147 runs in 12 overs. Most people thought Canada would win, especially since the US needed to score at an average of 9.8 runs per over.
However, the US defied the odds. Aaron Jones and Andries Gous scored 149 runs in just 58 balls, achieving a record partnership of 131 runs at a rate of 14.29 runs per over. Their incredible performance led the US to a stunning victory with 14 balls and 7 wickets to spare.
US captain Monank Patel is now confidently aiming for wins against top teams like India and Pakistan. In an interview, he expressed his belief that the team could advance to the “Super Eight” round. This confidence, whether seen as bold or overconfident, is inspiring.
Aaron Jones had a strike rate of 104 in his T20 career and had only crossed 50 runs once before this match. Despite being released by the Seattle Orcas in Major League Cricket, Jones delivered an outstanding performance with a strike rate of 235. He scored a fifty off just 22 balls and remained unbeaten at 94 off 40 balls, hitting 10 sixes. His remarkable innings places him just behind Chris Gayle for most sixes in a debut T20 innings.
Jones’ fearless and positive cricket is a sharp contrast to the cautious approach often seen in the Bangladesh team. Jones’ style reflects confidence and skill, showing that the US has the intent to play bold cricket.
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