IPL 2020: 'Nice to bat like that tonight' says Watson after anchoring Chennai's chase

Shane Watson revealed what was going in his mind after a blistering match-winning knock against Punjab at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday. 'Watto' scored an unbeaten 53-ball 83 at a strike rate of 156.60 including 11 boundaries and three maximums. He was involved in a 181-run opening stand along with Faf du Plessis (87*) chasing a competitive total of 179. The three-time champions reached the target with 14 balls to spare.

By the virtue of this win, Chennai become the first team to register a win while chasing in Dubai in the ongoing Dream11 IPL 2020.

'Nice to bat like that tonight': Shane Watson

"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. We complement each other well. He's a great guy, love batting with him. With so much experience and success the franchise's had, they believe in the players. Never any panic stations with Chennai. Just had to do a few things better", said Watson during the post-match interview. He was adjudged the Man of the Match for playing an anchor's role to perfection.

Chennai skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was a very relieved man after his team finally managed to get their campaign back on track.

"Did the small things right. Believed in the process. Were looking for the kind of start today. That's where experience counts. It's not about being more aggressive. Watson was looking good in the nets. But what you want is to replicate that. It was just a matter of time that he gets going. Faf is like a sheet anchor for us. He can always confuse the bowlers with shots like the lap shot. They compliment each other well. Fleming doesn't get the kind of recognition he should. The good thing between us is that we decide each and everything between us. It's not like we don't have debates over selections. But it stays between us. Felt the bowlers did a very good job. Felt we bowled according to what our plan was. Momentum with the right kind of shots. I felt Watto and Faf backed themselves to play the shots they're known for. It was very good to watch them out there", he said.

His Punjab counterpart KL Rahul admitted that the team is getting its execution completely wrong.

"It's hard being on the losing side for so many games on the trot. We need to come back harder and better. There's no rocket science where we are going wrong, it's the execution. When we started batting, the wicket did stop a bit and when the spinners came in there was some grip and turn. If we don't get wickets of the class of Watson and du Plessis, we are in trouble. It's a bit hard to attack as a captain when they are going at 10 runs an over in the powerplay. They are all professional players, so we can expect them to come back better. We need to keep training harder, practicing, and try to win the key moments in the game. Hopefully, we'll be able to bounce back", said the losing skipper.

(Image Courtesy: @IPL)