In the opening match of the Under-19 World Cup 2026 being played between India and USA at the Queens Sports Club in Zimbabwe, Indian captain Ayush Mhatre won the toss and decided to bowl first. This decision of India was proved right by young fast bowler Henil Patel, who shook the top order of USA with his lethal bowling. Batting first, USA lost 5 wickets for just 39 runs.
5 wicket haul for Indian bowler Henil Patel
Indian bowlers made a great start and did not give many chances to the opposition batsmen to score many runs in the first 10 overs. 18-year-old Henil Patel, hailing from Gujarat, is a key fast bowler for the Indian Under-19 cricket team. He is known for his accurate line and length and his ability to swing the ball both ways. He has also been a standout in domestic cricket, with a stellar performance against England in the Youth Test and a stellar performance for India in the ODI series against Australia, which has secured his place in the World Cup squad.
Henil has consistently performed well for Gujarat at the domestic level. His main strength is his ability to take wickets with the new ball, which he demonstrated in today’s match. He often traps batsmen with his outswingers.
At the time of writing this news, Henil Patel has put the Indian team in a strong position with a superb spell against the USA. In six overs, he took three crucial wickets for 14 runs, with an economy rate of 2.30. He troubled the American batsmen with his swing and pace, allowing Team India to dominate by taking wickets at regular intervals.
The US team suffered its first blow on the third ball of the second over when Amrinder Gill was dismissed for just 1 run off 7 balls. Opener Sahil Garg struggled for a while but was dismissed on the last ball of the 9th over after scoring 16 runs. The team’s score was then 29. USA had high hopes from captain Utkarsh Srivastava, but he was dismissed without scoring, leaving the team with only 34 runs.
The fourth wicket fell in the form of Arjun Mahesh, who was dismissed for 16 runs off 29 balls. Henil Patel bowled brilliantly for India, taking 3 wickets for 14 runs in 6 overs. Meanwhile, Deepesh Devendran took 1 wicket for 19 runs in 5 overs.