Shane Watson’s brilliant 106 built a mountain that the Rajasthan Royals could not climb to give the Chennai Super Kings a 64-run victory in Pune.
He rode his luck after being dropped in the slips in the first over to smash nine fours and six sixes off just 57 balls. The Australian had good support from Suresh Raina, who contributed 46 off 29 in a total of 204-5 after they had been put in to bat.
Further down the line, Dwayne Bravo scored 24 off 16, but that was about it.
But Watson had ensured that the total was sufficiently daunting. The Chennai bowlers then stepped up to finish the job.
Rajasthan Royals, who brought in Heinrich Klaasen for his debut match, were never able to get going. They were three down before the end of the powerplay, and that included Klaasen, bowled for seven.
Ben Stokes was their leading scorer with 45 as the Chennai bowlers shared out the wickets and restricted the Royals to 140 in 18.3 overs. Imran Tahir was the least fortunate, taking just one for 44 off his four overs.
The win lifted Chennai to the top of the log with six points from four matches, which was especially satisfying after they had been forced to move from the MA Chidambaram Stadium to Pune following civil unrest.
