3 player battles to watch out for in India vs Canada, Match 33 of 2024 T20 World Cup ft. Virat Kohli vs Jeremy Gordon
India and Canada will face off in their final Group A game in Lauderhill, Florida, on Saturday, June 15. The chances of a full game look dicey given how the weather in Florida has been over the week. There have been warnings of flash floods.
The game is virtually a dead rubber as India and the USA from Group A have qualified for the Super 8 stage, while Canada, Ireland, and Pakistan have been eliminated from the tournament. However, India have an opportunity to test some of the players on their bench. Canada, too, will want to give a good account of themselves, having already beaten Ireland by 12 runs in a shock result.
On that note, let's take a look at three match-ups that could make this game an interesting one:
#3 Shivam Dube vs Dillon Heyliger
Shivam Dube's place in India's playing XI was under the scanner after just three runs in his first two innings. While he struggled initially against the USA as well, the southpaw was able to help the Men in Blue get over the line with his contribution of 31*(35) and a vital 72-run partnership with Suryakumar Yadav.
India will want Dube to have another good outing with the bat ahead of the Super 8 phase. But given how the left-hander has struggled against middle-over enforcers who use the pitch a lot, his match-up with Dillon Heyliger could be intriguing.
Heyliger bagged figures of 2/19 against Ireland and played a crucial role in Canada's win. He would fancy getting the better of Dube given the latter's struggles in the tournament so far.
#2 Aaron Johnson vs Arshdeep Singh
Canada have heavily banked on explosive opener Aaron Johnson to get them off to flying starts. His fine half-century against Pakistan showed that he will not shy away from taking the game to the opposition in the powerplay. India will need to devise a plan to get rid of Johnson early and this is where Arshdeep Singh comes into the frame.
The left-arm pacer has been brilliant with the new ball, having picked up four wickets in his opening spell in three games. The onus will be on Arshdeep to keep Johnson at bay and it will be interesting to see how the latter deals with this challenge.
#1 Virat Kohli vs Jeremy Gordon
The one player India desperately need to be back in form is none other than Virat Kohli. After a staggering 741 runs in the IPL 2024 season, it seemed like Kohli would take the T20 World Cup 2024 by storm. However, that hasn't been the case so far as the veteran batter has scored a total of five runs in his three innings.
With gloomy conditions around, Canada's Jeremy Gordon might get ample help upfront with the new ball and will look to test Kohli. The star batter knows how to get back into form and will not be flustered by his failures so far. However, there might be a few nerves as Kohli is coming off a golden duck against the USA.