The 18th match of the Indian Premier League 2020 saw action between Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab in Dubai. CSK walked up with all their heart to make things respectable for them in this season of IPL. The awe-inspiring partnership of Shane Watson 83* off 53 and Faf du Plessis 87* off 53 led CSK home in all the style and fetched victory by massive ten wickets. The much-needed kick by two great batsmen gave CSK all that they needed in the season.

Shane Watson was named as the player of the match for his absolute brilliance with the bat. Batting first, KL Rahul and his men posted a good total of 178/4 on the board. KL Rahul was once again seen doing the perfect role of skipper and played a sublime knock of 63 off 52.

The cameos by Mayank Agarwal (26 off 19), Nicholas Pooran (33 off 17), and Mandeep Singh (27 off 16) remained essential in the team’s performance. Deepak Chahar remained economical as he conceded just 17 from his span of three overs. Ravindra Jadeja also remained decent with the ball in hand, and Shadul Thakur named two scalps to his name. None of the bowlers remained effective from KXIP’s end as Du Plessis and Watson smashed all of them ruthlessly.

Winning skipper, MS Dhoni said
Did the small things right. Believed in the process. Were looking for the kind of start today. That’s where experience counts. It’s not about being more aggressive. Watson was looking good in the nets. But what you want is to replicate that. It was just a matter of time that he gets going. Faf is like a sheet anchor for us. He can always confuse the bowlers with shots like the lap shot. They compliment each other well. Fleming doesn’t get the kind of recognition he should. The good thing between us is that we decide each and every thing between us. It’s not like we don’t have debates over selections. But it stays between us. Felt the bowlers did a very good job. Felt we bowled according to what our plan was. Momentum with the right kind of shots – I felt Watto and Faf backed themselves to play the shots they’re known for. It was very good to watch them out there.

Losing Skipper, KL Rahul said
“It’s hard being on the losing side for so many games on the trot. We need to come back harder and better. There’s no rocket science where we are going wrong, it’s the execution. When we started batting, the wicket did stop a bit and when the spinners came in there was some grip and turn. If we don’t get wickets of the class of Watson and du Plessis, we are in trouble. It’s a bit hard to attack as a captain when they are going at 10 runs an over in the powerplay. They are all professional players, so we can expect them to come back better. We need to keep training harder, practising and try to win the key moments in the game. Hopefully, we’ll be able to bounce back.”

Man of the match, Shane Watson said
” Nice to bat like that tonight. Felt something slightly off earlier in the tournament, technical thing. Bit more intent on the front leg, getting my weight through the ball. We compliment each other well. He’s a great guy, love batting with him. With so much experience and success the franchise’s had, they believe in the players. Never any panic stations with CSK. Just had to do a few things better.”