Shane Watson stamping his authority against his former team

Former Australian cricketer Shane Watson has been much maligned and criticised for various reasons and after last year?s IPL, it was looking like that his career would come to an end. Watson proved his doubters wrong and scored a majestic 106 runs off 57 balls and gave CSK a terrific start. Watson after getting reprieve early in his innings played with authority and imposed his big frame on Royals? bowlers. The knock completely knocked out Royals and it would have been extra special for Watson because it came against his former team and like Chris Gayle proved that age is just a number and there is no substitute for experience.

Shane Watson slams fourth T20 hundred, second of IPL 2018

Shane Watson, the Man of the Match says: "There's no doubt I had some extra motivation, playing against Rajasthan. Incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to play for CSK, so happy to repay the faith. (on the dropped catch), I'm not sure. It's just how it goes sometimes, but the other little things fell my way tonight. I'm always looking to get better, when it's time you're not learning, it's time to stop, so I'm still trying to improve certain aspects of my playing. MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming know really well how to set a team dynamic, and seeing the inner workings of the team is great."

IPL 2018: 36-year-old Shane Watson joins elite IPL list with third hundred

All-rounder Shane Watson roared back to form on Friday as the smashed his third hundred against Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League. Playing their first home game in Pune since the matches got shifted out of Chennai due to the Cauvery water dispute, Watson entertained the crowd hitting six maximums and nine boundaries during his 51-ball knock. The former Aussie star, who was bought by CSK for a whopping Rs 4 crore, started hitting the ball from the middle of his bat from the word go scoring two fours in the first over to get his team off to a flying start. Watson's hundred is the second by a batsman this season after Chris Gayle's swashbuckling 104 not out in 63 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad just 24 hours ago in Mohali. Interestingly, Watson's first ton in the IPL had come while playing for the Royals against the Super Kings when he scored 101 in a losing cause at the MA Chidambaram stadium in 2013. He then slammed 104 not out against Kolkata Knight Riders in Royals' 9-run victory at the Wankhede stadium in 2015. Overall, the 36-year-old has scored a total of 2754 runs in 107 matches at an average of over 31 and has picked up 91 wickets at 27.62 with one four-wicket haul.

IPL 2018: Shane Watson returns to haunt Rajasthan Royals, smacks 51-ball century

Dhoni, the winning captain says: "It's like an unknown territory for us. We're usually behind, but this time we're ahead. Most of us are over 30, so it's important to stay fit. Experience really counts, and we do have good fielders. Just need people to stay fit. The change of venue, to be frank, the people over here, they supported me when I played for Pune, so you could say that it was good that I could return the favour. Yes, it's Chennai Super Kings and not Pune Super Kings, but by the end of the seventh game, we'll see more yellow here. As for the pitch, I wasn't 100% sure. There was variable bounce, spongy bounce, and hitting from back of a length is difficult sometimes. The batsmen made the life for the bowlers easy. Whenever you score 200+, the spinners still had to vary their pace, line and length to stay in the game. The first six overs of the chase were important. Today also there was a bit of dew later on, and if the wicket is good not many teams will mind batting first."