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Chennai Super Kings (CSK) opener Shane Watson found his lost form during the eighteenth game of Indian Premier League (IPL) against Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) on Sunday.
The former Australia international struggled to score runs in the ongoing thirteenth season of the cash-rich league. Before the contest against KXIP, Watson had scored just 52 runs in 4 games. But as they say in cricketing terminology, big players perform in crucial matches and precisely that’s what Watson did.
It was an important game for CSK as they had already suffered three consecutive defeats in the competition. The MS Dhoni-led side bounced back in style, thanks to Watson (83) and Faf du Plessis (87), who slammed unbeaten half-centuries to help CSK chase down 179 without losing a single wicket.
After the comprehensive victory of the three-time champions against KL Rahul-led side, Watson’s tweet from Saturday started trending on social media.
The 39-year-old had predicted that a ‘perfect’ match for CSK is in the offing after their 7-run loss against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Friday (October 02). Watson’s prophecy turned out to be accurate as CSK crushed KXIP by 10-wickets.
“The perfect game for @ChennaiIPL is coming,” Watson had tweeted.
The perfect game for @ChennaiIPL is coming!!! 💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻@ChennaiIPL #WhistlePodu #Yellove https://t.co/SkA5TpvGOS
— Shane Watson (@ShaneRWatson33) October 3, 2020
“They believe in players”: Watson on CSK management
After the match, Watson explained that he was unable to get going in the initial games as he was feeling some technical issues in the batting.
“It was nice to bat like that tonight. Felt something slightly off earlier in the tournament, technical thing. Bit more intent on the front leg, getting my weight through the ball.”
The Queensland cricketer heaped praises on his batting partner Du Plessis and termed him as ‘a great guy’.
“We complement each other well. Bowlers he can take on feels more comfortable doing compared to the bowlers I prefer to take on. It seems to work really well. He’s (Faf du Plessis) a great guy, love batting with him.”
Watto further revealed that the CSK management trusts its players and always backs them, which brings out the best eventually.
“With so much experience and success the franchise’s had from day one, they certainly believe in the players and trust everything around the group. So, there is never any panic stations with CSK, which is a great thing. We just knew we had to do a few things better, me personally a couple of things. It’s nice that it came together.”
