Riding on a scintillating performance by Aaron Jones, the United States cheered the local audience by registering a thumping seven wickets victory against neighbouring Canada in the opening match of the T20 World Cup in Dallas on Saturday.
Jones was menacing in his approach as he butchered the Canadian bowling attack in his match-winning 40-ball 94 runs knock.
Chasing a target of 194 runs set by Canada in the first World Cup match played on the US soil, the local squad reached 197 runs by losing three wickets.
Andries Gous provided him strong support on the other end of the pitch with 65 runs.
Kaleem Sana, Dilon Heyliger and Nikhil Dutta picked up a wicket each for Canada.
Earlier, Navneet Dhaliwal contributed 61 runs with his willow to help Canada set up a competitive 194 runs for the loss of five wickets in their quota of 20 overs.
The American squad featured former New Zealand cricketer Corey Anderson who made his first major World Cup appearance for his new side this time.
The two neighbouring countries have a long history in world cricket since they first played a three-day match in New York in 1844 during the era of British Empire.
Canada had then won the match by 23 runs.
Two-time T20 World Cup champions West Indies will face Papua New Guinea in Georgetown in the second match of the tournament on Sunday.
This is the first time the USA is hosting a major World Cup event.
World Cup and T20 World Cup were previously played in West Indies.
