He took third-best figures by an Indian in U19 World Cup history.
India’s pace prodigy Henil Patel credited the fiery aggression of South African legend Dale Steyn for his stellar five-wicket haul that led to a six-wicket (DLS) victory over the USA in the Men’s Under-19 World Cup 2026 opener at Queens Sports Club.
Speaking at ICC Digital during an interview, Henil Patel shared the source of his aggression and how he prepares for each match.
“What I take from Dale Steyn is his aggression. I really like it. His bowling was so good that no batter could face him easily. He was very tough to play against,” Patel said. “I go in with the mindset of getting the batter out within three or four deliveries. It’s all about taking early wickets. I keep that same mindset and stay calm.”
The 18-year-old ran through the USA batting lineup, returning the figures of 5/18 and helping his side bowl them out for a below-par total of 107. His figures also marked the third-best bowling performance by an Indian at any edition of the men’s U-19 World Cup, behind Kamal Passi’s 6 for 23 against Zimbabwe in 2012 and Anukul Roy’s 5 for 14 against Papua New Guinea in 2018.
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Henil Patel accounted for the wickets of Amrinder Gill (edged the first ball to slip), skipper Utkarsh Srivastava (bowled), Arjun Mahesh (caught at deep third), Sabrish Prasad (caught at backward point) and Rishabh Shimpi (bowled). His spell gave the five-time champion a perfect start to its campaign. Apart from him, Deepesh Devendran, RS Ambrish, Khilan Patel, and Vaibhav Suryavanshi picked a wicket apiece.
India’s rain-affected chase had some early bumps as they lost captain Ayush Mhatre (19) and Vaibhav Suryavanshi (2) early on. But Abhigyan Kundu once again rescued India U19, scoring an unbeaten 42 off 41, alongside Kanishk Chouhan, achieving the DLS target of 96 in just 17.2 overs and six wickets to spare.
Five-time champions India aim for Group B dominance after this strong start, where they will also face Bangladesh U19 on January 17 and New Zealand U19 on 24th January at the same venue.
| Best bowling by India player at Men’s U19 World Cup | |||
| PLAYER | FIGURES | Opposition | Edition |
| Kamal Passi | 6/23 | v Zimbabwe | 2012 |
| Anukul Roy | 5/14 | v PNG | 2018 |
| Henil Patel | 5/16 | v USA | 2026 |
| Ravikant Singh | 5/21 | v PNG | 2012 |
| Vicky Ostwal | 5/28 | v South Africa | 2022 |
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