🏏ICC T20I Men's WC 2024: Match 11: PAK vs USA, Dallas @ 9:00 PM IST🏏 - Page 3

Pakistan will look to put all the controversy about captaincy and chatter about forms of crucial players behind them when they start their T20 World Cup campaign against hosts United States on Thursday.

Pakistan are coming into this World Cup with unenviable form, losing a T20 international to Ireland and then getting defeated by England 0-2 in a 4-match series. Even before that, the Men in Green had tied a series against a New Zealand side which was missing several of its World Cup stars. With a clash against arch-rivals India looming on the horizon, the Babar Azam-led outfit will be hoping to fix the chinks in their armour against the United States.

It’ll be easier said than done though with USA coming into the tournament with ominous form, defeating Bangladesh in a series, their first against a full-member nation. They also started the tournament like a house on fire with a decisive victory against Canada, courtesy of a blistering 94 by Aaron Jones.

USA news

USA played the tournament opener against neighbours Canada in what is still the highest-scoring match of this T20 World Cup so far. Aaron Jones was the star with an unbeaten 94 off 40 deliveries, as the USA chased down 195 with 14 deliveries to spare. The co-hosts will be looking to build on that performance against Pakistan.

Pakistan news

Ahead of their first fixture in this tournament, Pakistan may have a couple of tough calls to make regarding team selection. They was not at their best during the recent series against New Zealand and England, but will remain confident in overcoming this potentially dangerous USA side.

Vulnerable Pakistan to face up to plucky USA without injured Imad Wasim

USA go into this game high on confidence, having shown heart against Canada and recently upsetting Bangladesh. Pakistan could hardly say the same

Big picture

"Pakistan the heavyweight, the USA the plucky underdog" isn't a phrase that rolls off the tongue neatly enough, but those are the sobriquets thrust upon these two sides when they take each other on in Dallas. Cricketing matters aside, this game has enough of a tinge of off-field spice, but add to that an American uptick in form combined with a vulnerable Pakistan unit and the cricketing matters provide intrigue of their own.

USA's win over Canada in the first game neatly illustrates the danger the hosts pose. The temperament the hosts showed, turning what appeared a near-certain losing position into a comfortable victory, is emblematic of a side high on confidence following on from their stunning 2-1 series win over Bangladesh in the build-up to the tournament. The relative familiarity with the venue also gives USA an added edge, having played against Canada at the same ground.

In the spotlight

Aaron Jones would be a problem for any bowling side, but he matches up particularly well against Pakistan. Jones' takedown of Canada's pace and spin bowlers in the middle overs places a lot of pressure on Haris Rauf, Pakistan's most in-form bowler in that phase. With Imad out and Shadab severely out of nick, there remains the potential for Jones to lead a middle-overs onslaught similar to the one that saw the US storm past Canada in the tournament opener.

As the final T20I against England last week made brutally plain, there is no hiding place for Azam Khan. After a shocker of a game with both bat and gloves, he was singled out for the ire of Pakistan's media and fans. Some of it was justified, the rest way over the top. But it is obvious Pakistan are struggling to answer the question of what to do with him.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan's attempt to break up Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan failed on just about every count. Saim Ayub scored 229 runs in 15 T20I innings as opener, at an average of 15.26 and a strike rate of 126.51. That average as well as strike rate is lower than either Babar or Rizwan's as opener since January 2022
• Haris Rauf is five wickets away from becoming just the second Pakistani - after Shadab Khan - to reach 100 T20I wickets
• Of the 23 sixes Aaron Jones has struck in 25 T20I innings, 10 came in his innings against Canada in the World Cup opener

9.10am local (7.10pm PST) Hello and a warm welcome to ESPNcricinfo's ball-by-ball coverage of the T20 World Cup. Pakistan are finally getting into the ring after a few days of waiting and watching from the sidelines.

They're up against hosts USA, who are coming off a stunning opening-day win over arch-rivals Canada. We're at the Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, and there's little down the stands will be painted in Green and Dark Blue. Stay locked.

Both sides have had contrasting build-ups.

USA are riding high after their stunning 2-1 series win over Bangladesh in the build-up to the tournament. They also beat Canada in the opening game right here in Dallas.

Pakistan have struggled to get a proper training session in, let alone an actual game, warm-up or official. Rain in Dallas for much of the past week forced Pakistan to move two practice sessions to makeshift indoor facilities.

They also arrived late into the USA, because they chose to play Ireland and Pakistan in six T20Is in the UK instead. And those games didn't exactly go to plan.

Now, adding to their woes, they'll take the field without the injured Imad Wasim, who was brought out of retirement specifically for his experience of having played here in the Caribbean, particularly, through the CPL. In fact, seven members of the current squad have "inside information" courtesy their extensive knowledge of the conditions in the Caribbean.

Thanks for the tag

We are back at Dallas where Pakistan will begin their campaign against hosts United States of America. Lot of talk has been around the venues and pitches in this edition, but Dallas showed in the opening game that it is a good surface with the hosts chasing down 194. USA come into this encounter with plenty of momentum and would want to ride that wave if they are to give Pakistan a run for their money. Aaron Jones and Andries Gous were just brilliant with the bat against Canada but today's game will be a different challenge as they come up against a lethal pace attack. Pakistan have played quite a few games in the lead up to the World Cup and hopefully that has given them a fair idea about their best XI. The batting once again depends on the Babar-Rizwan duo but the return to form of Fakhar and him slotting into the middle order has bolstered their line-up. They have four gun pacers in the squad and one of them is likely to miss out. Who will it be? Naseem or Amir? We will find out at the toss which is not far away.