JOHANNESBURG: South Africa batters had no asnwers to the bowling of Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan while B Sai Sudarshan unbeaten debut half-century as India demolished the hosts by eight wickets in the ODI series opener at the Wanderers here on Sunday.

In their first game in this format post the ODI World Cup final loss last month, Arshdeep fully cashed on helping conditions by taking a sensational 5-37 in ten overs, his first five-wicket haul in this format.

Avesh, on the other hand, secured 4-27 in eight overs as South Africa were bowled out for just 116 in 27.3 overs, their lowest total in the format.

In reply, Sudarshan scored an impressive 55 not out off 41 balls, while Shreyas Iyer made 52 as India closed the chase with 200 balls to spare. The visitors’ now have a 1-0 lead in the three-game series.

Brief Scores: South Africa 116 (27.3 overs) (Andile Phehlukwayo 33; Arshdeep Singh 5-37, Avesh Khan 4-27) lost to India 117/2 in 16.4 overs (B Sai Sudharsan 55 not out, Shreyas Iyer 52; Andile Phehlukwayo 1-15, Wiaan Mulder 1-26) by eight wickets