Henil Patel ensures India start off U19 World Cup 2026 with a big win over USA

India U19 players celebrating a USA wicket [Source: @BCCI/x]

India Under-19 team started off its 2026 ICC U19 World Cup campaign with a comprehensive Group B win over USA in a rain-curtailed Bulawayo contest. Young pacer Henil Patel hogged the limelight in the tournament’s curtain-raiser with his match-winning five-wicket haul.

Here, we take a look at the entire highlights from the opening match of the 2026 ICC Under-19 World Cup between India U19 and USA U19, as it panned out at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Thursday, January 15.

Henil Patel cuts through USA U19 with electrifying five-fer

Indian Under-19 captain Ayush Mhatre won the toss and opted to field first. His new ball pacer Henil Patel responded with an early wicket of USA opener Amrinder Gill in just the second over of the match. Gill’s opening partner Sahil Garg also made his way back to the sheds for just 16 from 28 balls courtesy of Indian fast bowler Deepesh Devendran.

Arjun Mahesh at number three and middle-order batter Adnit Jhamb both failed to convert their starts, while USA captain Utkarsh Srivastava got knocked over for a shambolic five-ball duck by Henil Patel. Even though number seven batter Nitish Sudini top-scored in the innings through his courageous 36-run knock from 52 balls with four boundaries, the UAE Under-19 team bundled out for just 107 in 35.2 overs as no other bottom six batter managed to breach the double digits.

For India, Henil Patel bagged the additional wicket of Arjun Mahesh before mopping up the USA tail in quick succession to claim astonishing figures of 5-16 in his seven-over spell. His pace mates Deepesh Devendran (1-19) and RS Ambrish (1-14) as well as spin-bowling all-rounders Khilan Patel (1-27) and Vaibhav Suryavanshi (1-2) all chipped in with a wicket apiece.

Abhigyan Kundu anchors Indian chase after early jitters

Chasing 96 in 37 runs in a rain-revised target, India Under-19 lost explosive opener and star attraction Vaibhav Suryavanshi for just two from four balls in the third over. In an attempt to dispatch USA pacer Ritvik Appidi (2-24) towards the boundary, Suryavanshi merely managed to land an inside edge on to the stumps.

His opening partner and captain Ayush Mhatre listed a run-a-ball 19 before getting caught out by Amrinder Gill off Rishabh Shimpi (1-29) in the sixth over of the innings. Number three Vedant Trivedi also managed to make just two from 10 balls in a sluggish knock as India Under-19 crashed to 25-3 at one stage.

Fortunately for India, middle-order batters Vihaan Malhotra and Abhigyan Kundu soaked up the pressure with a composed 45-run partnership for the fourth wicket. While Malhotra clattered a couple of confident boundaries in his near run-a-ball 18, wicketkeeper-batter Kundu remained unbeaten at the crease through his top-scoring act of 42* off 41 balls with five elegant boundaries and a huge six.

Kundu also launched the winning hit off Adit Kappa in 17.2 overs alongside fellow unbeaten batter Kanishk Chouhan (10* off 14) as India romped to a comprehensive six-wicket win (DLS method) with 118 deliveries remaining in the game.