A brilliant Shane Watson hundred inspired Chennai Super Kings to IPL glory as they downed Sunrisers Hyderabad in the final in Mumbai.
Watson's brutal 117 not out from only 57 balls helped the Super Kings chase down Sunrisers' score of 178 in the 19th over.
It was a remarkable turnaround for Watson who began his innings in scratchy form as Bhuvneshwar Kumar gave him a torrid time early on, producing a high-class spell of seam bowling.
Watson rode it out, however, and despite taking 11 balls to get off the mark, the Australian found his stride before producing a frightening onslaught that saw him hit eight sixes and 11 fours in his match-winning contribution.
Suresh Raina (32) and Ambati Rayudu (16 not out) offered valuable support, but in truth, this was a one-man show with Sandeep Sharma and Siddarth Kaul, in particular, suffering at the hands of the all-rounder.
Sunrisers would have been happy with their work at halfway, 178 appearing a par score on a pitch offering plenty of spin and with a bowling attack as strong as their own to rely upon.
Once again, Sunrisers captain Kane Williamson gave his side a solid start and even though his innings was cut short on 47, Yusuf Pathan (45 not out) and Carlos Brathwaite (21) produced some lusty late blows to ensure a strong finish and give their side crucial momentum.
When Kumar swung the first ball of Chennai's innings past Watson's groping bat and followed up with five more dot balls, victory for Chennai seemed a long way away.
Watson, however, had other ideas.
Related cricket links
