Watson turns the clock back during his century

Notably, he recorded his latest century, his third in IPL, against the team that he represented in the inaugural edition. And interestingly, Watson’s first century in IPL came against Chennai Super Kings at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in 2013 when he scored 101 off 61 balls wearing the blue jersey. 

It seems MS Dhoni has acquired another fan. His Chennai Super Kings teammate Shane Watson was all praise for his skipper after CSK registered a 64-run victory over Rajasthan Royals on Friday. Watson’s century helped his side get to a big total in its first game at its new home in Pune. Watson smashed a 57 ball 106.

Watson praised Dhoni after the match, “MS reads the game incredibly well. His feel for the game is as good as anyone that’s ever played the game. His intuition on the ground is incredible…” 

“Our bowling plan comes in from what MS feels and his tactics on the ground. It’s a pretty powerful combination,” Watson said at the post match press conference.

Watson also admitted that he is learning a lot from the former India captain. “I’ve always watched him from far away. He’s so incredibly calm… Well he looks calm, maybe not so on the inside always but he looks so calm. Also, how he tactically reads the game, he’s hardly ever out in regards to his intuitions regarding the feeling of the game.” 

Watson further said he was happy to be part of CSK which helped him watch Dhoni closely. “To get to know these people is itself a huge privilege when you get to play these types of tournaments. To know them off the field, understand exactly what makes them great, how they go about their preparation, how they go about their life apart from cricket as well,” said the Aussie. 

Primarily known for his batting skills, who liked swinging the ball, Watson has evolved as a cricketer improving his overall game. Making changes to his batting style, especially after announcing his retirement from international cricket in 2016, Watson has reinvented himself to make him an indispensable part of the Chennai team in IPL 11. 

In his 51-ball century against Rajasthan, although Watson did prefer his favourite mid-wicket region (31 percent of his runs came from here), he also scored more than 40 runs on the off-side.