Shane Watson is one of the all time greatest IPL players of all time and he does not get the recognition he deserves. Shane Watson was instrumental in a couple of title wins single handedly and he has been one of the most loved Australian cricketers in IPL history. Shane Watson was a proper all Rounder and he could do it both with the bat and with the ball. The IPL has become poorer without Shane Watson.
Shane Watson played in 145 IPL Matches in his career and in those matches he scored 3874 runs at an average of 31 and he had a strike rate of 138. He hit 21 half centuries and he also smashed 4 IPL hundreds. Shane Watson was a player when he got in form then there was no stopping him and what he could do to the opposition.
Let’s look at the Top 5 Best IPL innings of Shane Watson
1) 117* vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (2018)
This was the greatest IPL innings played by Shane Watson and it is also the greatest IPL innings played in an IPL final considering the occasion and how he played with blood pouring from his body. Chennai Super Kings had a target of 179 to win and Shane Watson made it look so easy as he only took 57 balls to make 117 and in this innings he hit 11 fours and 8 sixes meaning a total of 92 runs in boundaries alone. CSK won the final with 9 balls remaining. And Shane Watson became an all time IPL legend.
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2) 101 vs Chennai Super Kings (2013)
This was the first hundred in the IPL for Shane Watson and it came in 2013 and this was an innings that made him one of the biggest stars of the IPL. He was in great form during this time and in this innings he played 61 balls and he hit 6 fours and 6 sixes In this innings meaning a total of 60 runs in boundaries. Even though Rajasthan Royals lost that batch , he had arrived and there was no looking back for the young man.
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3) 104* vs Kolkata Knight Riders (2015)
This was the second hundred in the career of Shane Watson and in this innings he made sure that Rajasthan Royals won the match. This match was against a very good KKR team who had won the IPL the year before and they had the best bowling attacks and he only took 59 balls to make this hundred and in this innings he smashed 9 fours and 5 sixes meaning a total of 66 runs in boundaries. Rajasthan Royals won the match by 9 runs.
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4) 106 vs Rajasthan Royals (2018)
This was the reverse hundred as he became one of the first batters in the IPL to have made a hundred for both the teams and against each other meaning he had scored a hundred against CSK playing for Rajasthan Royals and in this innings he did the reverse. This innings was a good example of the level of batting they Shane Watson was doing at that time and he absolutely destroyed the bowling of Rajasthan Royals. He made 106 runs in 57 balls and he had a strike rate of 186 and in this innings he hit 9 fours and 6 sixes meaning a total of 72 Runs in boundaries.
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5) 83* vs Punjab Kings (2020)
This was the last big innings he played in the IPL and what an innings it was. Shane Watson was in his last leg of the IPL and he showed in this match why he is the best of all time. CSK were chasing a score of 179 and Shane Watson made 83* from just 53 balls and he hit 11 fours and 3 sixes in this innings meaning a total of 62 runs in boundaries. He won the match by 10 wickets for Chennai Super Kings.
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