IMAGES from Friday’s Indian Premier League match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, in Pune.
IMAGE: Chennai Super Kings’s Dwayne Bravo celebrates the wicket of Rajasthan Royals’s Rahul Tripathi. Photograph: BCCI
Seasoned all-rounder Shane Watson smashed his third IPL century as Chennai Super Kings moved to their new ‘home’ in style, producing a comprehensive 64-run victory over Rajasthan Royals, in Pune, on Friday.
The Super Kings, forced out of Chennai because of the Cauvery dispute, were shepherded by the 36-year-old Australian, who hammered 106 off 57 balls to lead his side to a challenging 204 for five after being invited to bat.
Chasing the massive total, Rajasthan Royals could only muster 140 in 18.3 overs.
Three early wickets pegged Royals back. Their chase was in tatters when they lost three key batsmen inside the Powerplay overs. They needed Sanju Samson (2), captain Ajinkya Rahane (16) and debutant Heinrich Klaasen (7) to fire at the top but all three failed.
Ben Stokes (45) and Jos Buttler (22) added 45 runs for the fourth wicket but the partnership ended when the latter was dismissed by Dwayne Bravo.
Left-handed Stokes, who can turn a match on its head on his day, was also dismissed soon and the writing was on the wall.
IMAGE: CSK’s Shane Watson celebrates after scoring his century against Rajasthan Royals. Photograph: BCCI
Earlier, Watson, who made full use of a dropped chance in the first over on a flat track, shared a 50-run stand with fellow-opener Ambati Rayudu (12) and then raised a 81-run partnership for the second wicket with comeback-man Suresh Raina, who hit a fiery 46 off 29 balls, including nine shots to the fence.
Watson was in regal touch as he pummeled the Royals bowlers after being dropped in the opening over, bowled by Stuart Binny.
He hit nine fours and six sixes in his entertaining knock.
IMAGE: Shane Watson goes after the bowling. Photograph: BCCI
With no assistance on offer, the bowlers needed to be disciplined with their line and length but they were guilty of bowling either too full or short.
Watson swung his arms when the ball was pitched outside off and positioned himself nicely against short and straight deliveries to find boundary after boundary.
If CSK could not post a more daunting total on the board, it was because of Royals’s leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal, who stopped the run flow if not choked the CSK line-up, by accounting for three batsmen, including Mahendra Singh Dhoni in quick succession.
Gopal conceded just 20 runs in his four-over quota.
IMAGE: Suresh Raina played a good hand, scoring 46 off 29. Photograph: BCCI
Royals captain Ajinkya Rahane used five different bowlers in first five bowlers and it was Australian Ben Laughlin who got the first success as he removed Rayudu in the fifth.
However. already 50 runs were on the board and it was Watson who was the danger man.
In came Raina and the left-hander creamed off four boundaries off Ben Stokes’s over. The job only got tougher for Royals’s bowlers. At half-way mark, CSK were 107 for one.
In no time, Watson was approaching his hundred and Raina, a half-century, but Gopal brought relief for Royals by having the latter caught in deep by Gowtham.
IMAGE: Rajasthan Royals’s Krishnappa Gowtham and Shreyas Gopal celebrate wicket of Suresh Raina. Photograph: BCCI
There was no stopping Watson at the other end. He not only hit powerful shots but also used his wrists nicely for some delicate boundaries.
Gopal though was doing a great job for his side as he stopped run flow by dismissing CSK captain Dhoni (5), who had enthralled his fans with a blistering fifty in the last match, and Sam Billings (3) in his successive overs.
Watson completed his century in the 18th over and was out on penultimate ball of the innings.
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