Shane Watson, who was given a long rope by the CSK management, finally came good as Chennai Super Kings shrugged aside Sunrisers Hyderabad to keep their proud record at home firmly intact.

Chasing a target of 176 on a far better strip at Chepauk, CSK did not get off to an entirely bright start, but Shane Watson held fort and after thwarting the threat of a Bhuvneshwar Kumar spell, played an enterprising innings of 96 runs off 53 balls.

“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. Of course, I was doing alright in the PSL and in the BBL too, struck the ball well. 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 said after the match.

CSK are back at the top of the points table while SRH dropped down to the number 4 position.

First Published: Apr 24, 2019 09:38 IST