Watson hundred propels CSK to top spot

By Kashmir Age Online On Apr 21, 2018

PUNE: Chennai Super Kings dominated Rajasthan Royals as Shane Watson’s third IPL hundred and a combined bowling effort saw the southern side register a convincing 64-run win at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Friday (April 20).The win took CSK to the top of the points table while Rajasthan suffered their third loss in five games, leaving them at fifth spot.

How crucial was Tripathi’s drop?

98 runs – the cost of Watson’s drop by Rahul Tripathi at first slip off Stuart Binny when the Queenslander was on 8 in the opening over. It was a regulation chance as well and came at a nice height to his right but Tripathi floored it despite getting both hands to it and had to watch Watson cart his side to all corners of the stadium for the rest of the innings. The drop turned out to be the decisive moment of the match.

How good was Watson?

Rajasthan tried five different bowlers in the opening five overs but none could counter Watson, who tore into RR’s bowling. When it was full, he was on the front foot to lift it over the infield while going on the back foot to smash anything that was pitched short. He was well supported by Suresh Raina who also joined the fun, hitting four consecutive boundaries off one Stokes’s over. Fifty came up for Watson in just 28 balls even as Shreyas Gopal’s leg-breaks and wrong’uns were given respect that it deserved by the duo. The 36-year old brought up his 100 – his third in IPL career – with a single off Unadkat in the 18th over.

Did RR make a comeback to restrict CSK?

Yes, but the damage had been already done.

Rajasthan who were ordinary in the field with Tripathi dropping two catches and Samson one, pulled things back in the last five overs of the innings as they conceded just 43 with the centurion looking tired from all his big-hitting. Bravo failed to provide the required impetus too as CSK ended with 204-5. At one stage CSK were 150/2 after 13 overs but the final kick never came. In hindsight, Watson and Raina’s stand at the top had done enough for CSK to cushion the blip at the end.

Was opening with Klaasen ahead of Tripathi a mistake?

If RR thought they had the momentum with them going into the chase, it was quickly snuffed out by the impressive opening spell of Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur. Heinrich Klaasen, who was playing his first game of the IPL, was dropped first ball by Watson at slip but he didn’t last long to make an impact. Local man Tripathi, who had made quite an impression at the top of the order last year for RPS, was restricted to No. 6 and duly flopped as the asking rate mounted alarmingly. Klaasen looked out of place as an opener against the moving ball when his expertise against spin could so easily have been utilised later on in the innings.

A win so easy that Karn Sharma wasn’t needed till the 17th over

What was interesting to see was MS Dhoni not requiring the services of Karn Sharma – who had come in for Harbhajan Singh tonight- till the 17th over. The same applied for Jadeja too, who didn’t bowl in the last game, came on in the 18th over. With the game almost done by the time he came on, Karn duly finished off things with consecutive wickets of Unadkat and Laughlin as RR succumbed to 140 all out with nine legal deliveries remaining in the match.

Where do they go next?

Chennai, who are now at the top of the table, make the long trip to Hyderabad to face SRH on Sunday (April 22) while Rajasthan move to the familiar comforts of home, to Jaipur, to take on Mumbai on the same day.

Brief scores: Chennai Super Kings 204/5 in 20 overs (Shane Watson 106, Suresh Raina 46; Shreyas Gopal 3-20) beat Rajasthan Royals 140 all out in 18.3 overs (Ben Stokes 45; Karn Sharma 2-13, Shardul Thakur 2-18) by 64 runs. (cricbuzz)