USA's Aaron Jones played a sensational knock of unbeaten 94 against Canada in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 opener. Jones achieved multiple feats and broke a record that stood for nearly 17 years in T20 World Cup history. His unbeaten 94 is the highest score by a non-opener in a successful run chase in T20 World Cup.
Who held the previous record?
The record was held by former South Africa all-rounder Justin Kemp. The Proteas batter scored an unbeaten 89 off 56 balls against New Zealand in the inaugural T20 World Cup 2007. Kemp is followed by West Indies' two-time T20 World Cup winner who scored unbeaten 85 against England in 2016 edition. England's Joe Root scored 83 against South Africa at Wankhede Stadium in the 2016 edition.
The fifth spot is occupied by Virat Kohli's unbeaten 82 against Australia in Mohali in the same edition. West Indies’ Lendl Simmons scored unbeaten 82 against India in T20 World Cup 2016 semifinal. Kohli scored another unbeaten 82 which turned out to be an iconic knock in the run chase against Pakistan at MCG in previous edition of the marquee event.
More feats achieved in the run chase
Jones' 94 is the second-highest score by a batter on T20 World Cup debut. Chris Gayle scored a century in the inaugural edition. Jones hit 10 sixes in an innings, the second-most by a batter in an innings in T20 World Cups. Gayle has hit 11 sixes against England in the 2016 edition.
Jones and Andries Gous shared a 131-run partnership. This is the highest partnership for USA in T20Is. Also, it is the second-highest third-wicket partnership in T20 World Cups. The run chase of 195 is the third-highest in the tournament’s history.
‘Anything under 200 is chaseable’
“I don't think it is easy to put it into words. Happy to get my team over the line. I thought anything under 200 is chaseable. We wanted to play aggressive cricket. I think I go through my process while I practice. To be honest, when my team is under pressure it gets the best out of me,” Jones said in the post-match presentation.
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