I like Steyn’s aggression a lot: Henil

Pacer Henil Patel, who starred in India’s six-wicket victory over USA in the U19 World Cup with a stupendous five-wicket haul, says he draws inspiration from South African fast bowling great Dale Steyn’s aggression on the pitch.

Patel showed his class when he ripped through the American batting line-up to collect figures of 5/16 during India’s victory here on Thursday to give the five-time champions a perfect start to their campaign.

It was the third best performance by an Indian bowler at any edition of the men’s U19 World Cup — bettered only by Kamal Passi (6/23 against Zimbabwe in 2012) and Anukul Roy (5/14 against Papua New Guinea in 2018).

“What I get from Dale Steyn is that I like his aggression a lot,” Patel told ICC Digital in an interview. “His bowling was so good that there was no batter who could play against him easily because he was so tough to face.”

Three of Patel’s five victims arrived via a blistering new-ball spell at Queens Sports Club that reduced USA to just 34/4 and the 18-year-old revealed the key to his success when opening the bowling was attacking the stumps. “I have a mindset to get the batter out within three to four deliveries. It’s all about taking early wickets, I go with the same mindset and I stay calm,” Patel said.

“I go into training with a proper mindset, I get my body ready and it’s the same in a match.” India captain Ayush Mhatre admitted that his side should have won the match against USA without losing too many wickets. “We stretched out this innings for too long and lost four wickets,” Mhatre said. “We could have done this (run chase) without loss or one wicket down.”