Aussie veteran winds back clock with blistering century to guide Chennai to table-topping win
Match Report:
ScorecardOne hundred Watto lights up IPL
The Result: Chennai Super Kings 5-204 (Watson 106, Bravo 2-16) beat Rajasthan Royals 140 (Stokes 45, Gopal 3-20) by 64 runs.
The match in a tweet: Watson winds back to the clock with super century to help Chennai romp to massive win over Rajasthan #CSKvRR
Let’s whistle for our MOM @ShaneRWatson33 #WhistlePodu pic.twitter.com/rt98hFy4FH— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) April 20, 2018
The 100 Watts knock: Backing up fellow T20 veteran Chris Gayle's whirlwind ton against Sunrisers Hyderabad last night, 36-year-old Shane Watson showed why he still has plenty to offer besides his decades of international experience after a stunning century off just 57 balls. Capitalising on an early life after being dropped on eight, the former IPL Player of the Tournament raced to his half-century off just 28 deliveries to set a monster platform for the home side. The powerful allrounder then continued to showcase his supreme ball-striking ability as he took advantage of some wayward bowling from the visitors to finish with nine fours and six maximums, notching his third IPL century, and fourth T20 ton overall, before eventually falling on the penultimate delivery for 106.
The Support Act: The spotlight deservedly belonged to Watson, but fellow IPL veteran Raina provided the perfect foil for the Aussie's onslaught with an explosive 46 off 29 deliveries of his own. The 31-year-old set the tone after taking high-profile recruit Ben Stokes for four consecutive boundaries in the sixth over, putting the pressure squarely on the Rajasthan attack as he combined with Watson to form an 81-run second-wicket stand.
Image Id: 0EEC8AC9F1D442698FD2520D508B5F96 Image Caption: Dwayne Bravo helped curtail the Rajasthan run chase with 2-16 // BCCI
The Aussie Pack: It was a good night all round for Watson, who followed up his domination with the bat with a miserly 1-13 from three overs to help finish off a commanding win for the home side. Ben Laughlin (2-38) managed to pick up the wicket of his countryman (albeit far too late), but the veteran seamer was far from the worst of a largely wayward Rajasthan attack. It was bad news for Rajasthan opener D'Arcy Short, who despite making his top score of 44 in the previous match, was dropped in favour of South African Heinrich Klaasen.
The Next Stop: A big test for the ladder-leading Super Kings as they travel to Hyderabad to face the third-positioned Sunrisers on Sunday, while Rajasthan will attempt to bounce back against the 1-3 Mumbai Indians in Jaipur.
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