IPL 2018, CSK vs KKR: Hits and Misses

#4 Hit: Shane Watson

Shane Watson was excellent with both bat and ball

After a poor IPL last season, a lot of people thought Shane Watson was heading towards the end of the career. But he roared back into form. He scored 331 runs in the Big Bash this year. In the Pakistan Super League that followed, he was once again brilliant. He scored 319 runs in 10 innings and picked up 11 wickets.

Hence, he was coming into this IPL high on confidence. In the first game this IPL, he was good with the ball as he took 2/29 and scored 16.

The former Australian all-rounder continued his good form with the ball as he once again took two key wickets (Nitish Rana and Dinesh Karthik). He was taken for runs by Russell towards the end but it was still a good outing with the ball for Watson.

Chasing 203, Chennai Super Kings needed someone to give them a good start and the 36-year-old all-rounder helped CSK get off to a flying start. He hit 42 in just 19 balls and helped the home side get to 75 in the powerplay.

In the first over, he set the tone as he struck Vinay Kumar for two fours and a six. Watson then hit Piyush Chawla for a huge six as CSK raced to 30 in just 2 overs. Rayudu fed off his partner’s aggression as he struck a few lusty blows as well.

Watson then got stuck into Tom Curran as he hit the England pacer for a four and a six before he was caught at deep mid-wicket.