IPL 2018: Matthew Hayden elated for Shane Watson

Shane Watson had a very ordinary stint in last year’s Indian Premier League (IPL). He was released by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and was subsequently picked up by the Chennai Super Kings (CSK). The move was definitely a gamble, bearing in mind the fact that the Australian cricketer isn’t getting any younger. However, the signing turned out to be a masterstroke as he racked up a couple of centuries for them.

The Queenslander was in a different zone in the final versus the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The Sunrisers set a competitive target of 179 for CSK to trace down. The Yellow Army needed Watson to fire in order for them to race away. The veteran played out 10 consecutive deliveries before getting off the mark.

Watson’s game-changing knock

He opened his account with a thumping stroke down the ground off Sandeep Sharma and didn’t look back ever since. Thereafter, the swashbuckling batsman took 23 balls and accomplished his half-century. In the next 18 balls, he added 52 more runs to his tally and notched a superlative century off 51 balls. The knock eventually took the sting out of the Sunrisers’ bowling as they kept tried their hearts out.

Watson was particularly severe on Sandeep Sharma and scored 27 runs from the 13th over to bring the match completely in favour of the Super Kings. Prior to the over, CSK required 75 runs from 48 balls at a required rate of 9.37, which still was a tough ask for MS Dhoni’s men. He eventually scored 117 runs in 57 balls and helped Chennai to their third title.

Matthew Hayden, his former Australian teammate and who is also a Queenslander, heaped praises on the all-rounder and also thanked India for the T20 extravaganza. He wrote

“Very very special performance @ChennaiIPL @ShaneRWatson33 take a bow mate…#crushedit God Bless you all as our beloved festival of @IPL comes to a conclusion. Love you India”

Here is Hayden’s post

Very very special performance @ChennaiIPL @ShaneRWatson33 take a bow mate…#crushedit God Bless you all as our beloved festival of @IPL comes to a conclusion. Love you India❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/sDHeLJucwq

— Matthew Hayden AM (@HaydosTweets) May 27, 2018

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