MS Dhoni’s intuition rare in cricket, says Shane Watson
Shane Watson has hailed Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni’s ‘incredible’ reading of the game
Former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson heaped praise on his Chennai Super Kings (CSK) captain MS Dhoni, stating that he hasn’t seen the kind of intuition Dhoni has with the game, in too many players.
“I’m very fortunate to have an opportunity at CSK like I have, to be able to open the batting throughout the tournament, to be able to bowl certain overs whenever MS (Dhoni) needs me,” Watson was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au. “To be there for MS but also for my selfish point of view to be able to see how his mind works and how incredibly he reads the game, to be able to ask those questions has been great as well.”
It has been a pretty good season for Watson so far with the 36-year-old already notching up 438 runs in 13 matches at a strike rate of 147.47 and an average of 33.69. He has been quite handy with the ball as well and has notched up six wickets in 28 overs so far.
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“There’s no doubt that experience in T20 tournaments and cricket in general can really come through especially in pressure situations,” Watson said. “Just his (Dhoni’s) feel and intuition for the game, I’ve experienced that with a few incredible players I’ve played with, MS is certainly right up there. The feel that he has for the game, what a batsman is going to do, what a bowler should do, as you can see when he bats as well, nine times out of 10 he chases the runs down as well.”
Watson, who had been part of the Rajasthan Royals side that won the trophy back in the inaugural edition in 2008, will now be aiming to bag the IPL title for a second time now that they have progressed to the elimination rounds of the tournament. Chennai Super Kings finished second on the points table and will now take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in the first qualifier on Tuesday for a place in the final.
