Canada Defeat USA By 34 Runs In Opening Auty Cup Match

Canada skipper Nitish Kumar struck 60 and then picked up 2 for 13 in their win.

By Ravi Madholall | Scorecard
Canada chalked up a comfortable 34-run win in first of the three-match Auty Cup series against USA on Thursday at Woodley Park facility in Los Angeles.

The visitors won the toss and opted to take first knock reaching a sufficient 239-8 from the allotment of 50-overs while USA, in reply, only scored 205 all out in the 48th over.

Inform opener Srimantha Wijeyranthe led the way for Canada with an aggressive 66 which counted nine fours and a six while skipper Nitish Kumar supported admirably with 60.

Satsimranit Dhindsa and Varun Sehdev also chipped in with the bat by making 32 and 28 not out respectively as captain and off-spinner Steven Taylor grabbed five wickets for 47 runs from his maximum 10-overs. Leg-break bowler Tamil Patel claimed two wickets for 35 runs from ten overs too.

Srimantha Wijeyranthe led the Canadian batting with 66. Photos by WICB Media/Ashley Allen

When the hosts batted, Fahab Babar showed good aggression with 63 which was laced with six fours while Nicholas Stanford made 23 and 21 from Elmore Hutchsinson.

Right-ram medium-pacer Cecil Pervez, an experienced campaigner, collected three wickets for 38 runs off 10-overs while Kumar and Dhindsa proved their all-round capabilities by snaring two wickets to help bowl out USA.

The two neighboring countries will be action again on Friday at the same venue before taking a break the following day. The third and final encounter is set for Sunday also at Woodley Park.

Reminiscing on the history of the competition, it started way back in 1844. The tradition continues despite a two-year hiatus in 2014 and 2015. Canada last won the tournament that was held in Toronto in 2013, when it was played in a two-day, 50-over and T20 formats.