CHENNAI : Shane Watson or Sam Billings? That was one question uttered by many of those who made their way to MA Chidambaram Stadium on We­d­n­e­sday. They had their reasons. Up until Chennai Super Ki­n­g­s’ fixture against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Watson had not ma­de a fifty in the 10 matches he had played.  With Chennai losing two successive matches and considering their fragile middle-order, replacing Watson would have made sense. If there was one player who could replace him, that was Billings.

But Chennai like to pick their players and back them to the T, no matter what. That is what MS Dhoni prefers too.As Watson poweed Chennai into the playoffs with a match-winning 96 off 53, it was hardly surprising that he chose to credit Dhoni and head coach Stephen Fleming for the backing they gave him.
“I can’t thank them enough for their belief in me. For me to miss out on runs for as long as I had throughout this tournament, my previous teams would have dropped me a long time ago.”

Watson didn’t take any names. But as an overseas player, he knows a thing or two about how franchises operate. Unlike Indians, foreign imports rarely get this kind of backing when runs dry up.Watson has experienced that first-hand. In 2017, when Royal Challengers Bangalore had missed Virat Kohli’s services with injury, it was the Australian who captained for them in their first three matches.

Scores of 22, 24 and 1 meant that he didn’t even feature in the fourth. He ended up tallying only 71 in 8 matches that season. Captain one day, axed from the XI next day. Those fears may have crossed Watson’s mind plenty of times this season. Even on Wednesday, he was struggling to put bat on ball as Chennai got off to their worst ever start in IPL.

For a player who arrived on the back of a good Pakistan Super League and Big Bash League, the slow, spinning conditions at Chepauk didn’t help either. But with the track playing slightly different from its character on Tuesday, Watson soon found form. It was almost like he was replaying last year’s final against the same opponents. 

“Personally, I was flying high after PSL. Then things didn’t go my way. I lost a bit of rhythm in my batting. The conditions have been a bit dry compared to the others years I have played in IPL.
“There tends to be more inconsistent bounce and pace in the wickets here. I just lost my rhythm. I’d like to work on a couple of things technically as well to get my batting back in the groove.” 

With things not going his way, Watson had to face Rashid Khan — considered a threat on this surface — to whom he hasn’t given away his wicket in T20s. After seeing off the first ball, Watson showed first signs of opening the floodgates with a powerful hit down the ground, which hit Rashid’s finger and raced to the boundary.

They exchanged stares. Yet, Watson wasn’t looking convincing. Next over, Jonny Bairstow offered him life. Watson marked his guard again and appeared to go quiet for the next two overs. 
Then like it happened in last year’s final, Sandeep Sharma came back into the attack. Watson opened up his shoulders. Chepauk cleared its throat. And Chennai found themselves in a familiar territory: Playoffs.