Two teams that made their return to the 2018 edition of the Indian Premier League, Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings faced each other in Pune.
Rajasthan Royals‘ skipper Ajinkya Rahane won the toss and elected to field first.
The decision backfired, as Shane Watson joined yesterday’s centurion Chris Gayle, to score his third IPL hundred.
His first two tons came while playing for the Royals, and this one was scored wearing yellow against familiar opposition. The opener slammed six sixes and nine fours to get to 102 off 57 balls.
Also Read: IPL 2018: Match 17, Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals – Five Game-Changing Moments
Suresh Raina recovered from the calf injury and made a vital contribution of 46 off 29 balls. All-rounder Dwayne Bravo provided the finishing touches to take the team total to 204/5.
Rahane praises Watson’s knock
Rahane credited the Chennai outfit on winning the game quite convincingly. The 64-run loss will hamper their net run rate. Watson was dropped in the very first over of the innings by Rahul Tripathi. The skipper rued the missed opportunities and said they need to move forward.
He also said that it is important to bat with a positive mindset and expects his boys to take a leaf out of Watson’s majestic knock.
“Credit goes to CSK. The way they played, especially Watson. We dropped a catch, but the way he batted was incredible. Poor fielding hurts, but players are working hard on fielding. Need to learn from this and move forward. I felt we bowled slightly on the poor side.” Rahane said after the contest got over.
“They bowled straighter, and those lines and lengths were difficult to hit. CSK were just too good tonight. It’s important to believe in our ability for the next game, and just go out there and be positive. Watson was positive from ball one, and T20 cricket is just about that.” he added.