IPL 2018: At 36, Watson proves he still has enough fire left in him

PUNE: In the fifth ball of the Chennai Super Kings’ innings, Rahul Tripathi dropped Shane Watson’s catch at first slip. Watson, who was batting on nine after hitting Stuart Binny for two boundaries, didn’t need a second invitation to make the best use of the chance. He ended up scoring a scintillating 106 off 57 balls to lay the foundation of CSK’s total against Rajasthan Royals. It was Watson’s third century in the IPL.
Despite hanging up his international boots two years back, Watson continued playing in T20 leagues like Big Bash and Pakistan Super League where he faced the likes of Wahab Riaz and Yasir Shah. In fact, he was one of the top performers in both the leagues and it all helped in preparing for the IPL. It was perhaps because of his form in these two leagues that CSK backed the 36-year-old at the IPL auctions and paid Rs 4 crore for his services. So far, the Australian allrounder hasn’t disappointed. Having had a poor IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore last season, Watson also probably had a point to prove.
He has provided CSK with flying starts and the highlight of his maiden season with CSK was Friday’s innings. He looked in control from the start and dominated the bowlers with ease. He was relentless against K Gowtham as he hit the offie for two sixes and a boundary in the same over. Such was his exquisite strokemaking that at times it seemed that Rajasthan Royals bowlers didn’t know which line and length to bowl at.
“Watson has been in top form for quite a while. On Friday, he had a shaky start when he gave that catch. But Rajasthan failed to take the opportunity. It boosted his confidence and he put the pressure back on the bowlers,” former Australian pacer Damien Fleming said in the commentary.
While he has provided the flying starts at the top of the order, he has been equally effective with the ball. He has the right variation, can bowl at the death and hardly wavers in line and length - the aspects crucial to apply the choke on the opposition batsmen in this format.
For CSK, pace-bowling allrounders have always performed well. The likes of Albie Morkel, Dwayne Bravo and Dwayne Smith have been crucial to CSK’s success over the years. Now, one can add Watson’s name in that list.