IPL 2019 | Shane Watson thanks MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming for long rope

Former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson was purchased for four crores by Chennai Super Kings in the 2018 auction, and he lived up to expectations as he blasted 555 runs and two centuries for the side. However, things did not start well for him this season as he only had 147 runs in ten matches and probably would have been dropped, if he failed to perform in CSK’s encounter against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Tuesday. The batsman took the SRH bowlers to cleaners by scoring 96 off 53 balls and did not fail to credit Dhoni and Fleming for giving him such a long rope.

"I was due for runs, that's for sure. I can't thank Stephen Fleming and MS Dhoni enough for their belief in me. Most of the teams I've played in, I would have been dropped by now but they showed the trust in me," Watson said, at the post-match presentation ceremony, reported PTI.

The veteran pointed out that he was coming on the back of good performances in other franchise leagues. He had smashed 430 runs in 12 matches in the Pakistan Super League, and 331 runs in 10 matches in the Big Bash League.

"Of course, I was doing alright in the PSL and in the BBL too, struck the ball well,” the 37-year-old explained.

Watson smashed the ball all around the park but also acknowledged that he was tied down by the SRH skipper Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The Queensland player failed to score any run in the first over of the innings bowled by the pacer and was eventually dismissed by him in the 18th over.

"Needed some things to go my way, like it did today when Bhuvi was all over me. He is an incredibly skillful bowler as he swings it both ways," he signed off.