NC Sports Desk DALLAS: Aaron Jones struck an explosive unbeaten 94 from  40 balls as the USA beat Canada by seven wickets in the opening game of the T20 World Cup on Saturday.

Jones, born in New York but raised in Barbados, bludgeoned the Canadian attack, smashing ten sixes as he totally changed the momentum of the game in a superb 131-run third wicket partnership with Andries Gous. Jones took full control in the 13th over when he went on the attack against the slow left-arm of Canada captain, Saad Bin Zafar, smashing three sixes in one over. Then the game shifted decisively towards the Americans when Jeremy Gordon's medium-fast seamers went for 33 off one disastrous over, with the Canadian adding to his misery with three wides and two no-balls, including a no-ball that cancelled out a potential dismissal of Gous. Former South Africa Under-19 batsman Gous made 65 off 46 balls before he holed out to deep midwicket off Nikhil Dutta, ending a partnership that had taken the Americans from struggling at 42-2 in the seventh over to close to their finish line at 173-3 in the 16th. Corey Anderson, the former New Zealand all-rounder, came in to accompany Jones who fittingly ended the contest with his 10th sixth of the night. It was the perfect start to the tournament for the co-hosts, with the crowd at the compact Grand Prairie Stadium roaring with delight as Jones smashed the Canadian attack around the ground.