NAIROBI, SEPT 26: Left-arm spinner Sunil Joshi claimed an incredible haul, of five wickets for just six runs, as India crushed formidable South Africa by eight wickets with as many as 27.2 overs to spare in their opening tie of the four-nation Quadrangular Cricket Tournament here today.The 30-year-old Joshi capped a superb all-rounder display by the Indians with a dream spell of 10-5-6-5 that sent the South Africans hurtling to 117 all out in 48 overs, their lowest total against India and second lowest ever at the Nairobi Gymkhana ground.Left-handed openers Sadagoppan Ramesh (36 off 33 balls) and Saurav Ganguly (38 off 51 balls) then gave a blazing start as India scored their first win over South Africa since the Titan Cup final at Mumbai in November, 1996, rattling up 120 for two wickets in 22.4 overs.There was no inkling of India's superlative victory as South Africa opted to bat first, but stand-in skipper Ajay Jadeja exploited the slow and dusty pitch to the hilt by handling his slow bowlersastutely.Joshi, declared man of the match, was brilliantly backed by off-spinner Nikhil Chopra (3 for 26), and also by Vijay Bharadwaj who cashed in on South Africa's dislike for spin, claiming one for 16 from 10 overs with his fastish off-spin.Indian fielding was a revelation as South Africa, playing their first match in three months after the World Cup semi-final exit, looked rusty and never recovered after being dealt early blows.Joshi was the hero of the brilliant victory with his career-best haul. Only Jacques Kallis with a painstaking 38 off 110 balls offered resistance.`Dedicated to Bedi'Joshi dedicated his best ever one-day figures to the genius of legendary left-arm spinner Bishen Singh Bedi. ``He has made a big difference. I spent a month with him during the World Cup and he honed my bowling skills with some very, very valuable suggestions,'' he said.``He taught me the art of spin, worked on my loop and I could feel the difference after I got back into the team in Singaporelast month,'' said Joshi.SCOREBOARDSOUTH AFRICA: B Dippenaar b Joshi 17, H Gibbs c Dravid b Joshi 18, M Boucher run out 0, J Kallis c Mohanty b bharadwaj 38, H Cronje c Ramesh b Joshi 2, D Benkenstein c&b Chopra 18, J Rhodes c Chopra b Joshi 1, S Pollock c Dravid b Joshi 0, L Klusener not out 7, D Crookes c MSK Prasad b Chopra 8, S Elworthy c Jadeja b Chopra 0. Extras (b4, lb4): 8. Total (all out in 48 overs) 117.Fall of wickets: 1-32, 2-32, 3-39, 4-45, 5-83, 6-83, 7-85, 8-106, 9-117.Bowling: Prasad 9-1-23-0, Mohanty 6-1-21-0, Joshi 10-6-6-5, Chopra 10-0-26-3, Bharadwaj 10-3-16-1, Ramesh 2-0-7-0, Dravid 1-0-10-0.INDIA: S Ramesh c Pollock b Crookes 36, S Ganguly c Pollock b Crookes 38, VR Bharadwaj not out 18, R Dravid not out 9. Extras (b4, lb7, w6, nb2): 19. Total (for 2 wkts in 22.4 overs) 120.Fall of wickets: 1/72, 2: Pollock 3-0-17-0, Kallis 1-0-12-0, Klusener 3-0-19-0, Crookes 8.4-0-47-2, Elworthy 7-2-14-0.
