Shane Watson is 36, he hasn’t played an international of any description since March 2016, and is hobbling with a hamstring problem.
That hardly paints the picture of a batsman likely to dominate an IPL final at a packed Mumbai, especially as he started with ten dots from the first ten deliveries he faced.
But that was just the lull before the Watson storm.
From 0 from 10, to 50 from 33, to 100 from 51, and finally 117 not out from 57, Watson was simply superb, as his 11 boundaries and eight maximums will attest.
His hamstring was very grateful that 92 runs didn’t require him to move out of his crease.
This was vintage Shane Watson, and on the biggest T20 stage in world cricket.
He led the Chennai Super Kings (2-181) to a superb victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad (6-178) by eight wickets, with nine deliveries up their sleeve.
His second-wicket partnership with Suresh Raina (32) posted 117 from just 57 deliveries and had the yellow dressed Super Kings supporters constantly on their feet applauding.
Not bad for a side tagged Dad’s Army pre-tournament.
That list is headed by 38-year-old Imran Tahir and 37-year-old Harbhajan Singh.
Skipper MS Dhoni and Watson are 36, Dwayne Bravo 34, Faf du Plessis and Murali Vijay are 33, with Ambati Rayudu and Kedar Jadhav both 32 and Suresh Raina 31.
Yet Dad’s Army won the coveted trophy for the third time in seven finals without Dhoni and Bravo having to bat.
That is a significant stat in a high-quality decider.
The Sunrisers deserved to reach the final after a major shakeup pre-tournament that saw David Warner dumped as captain (and from the tournament) after the ball-tampering affair in Cape Town, with Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson taking over the reins.
He led from the front with a tournament-high 735 runs at 50-plus, with the all-round brilliance of Rashid Khan another telling factor.
Not surprisingly, Williamson top-scored for the Sunrisers with 47 from 36, supported by 35-year-old Yusuf Pathan’s 45 off 25.
The Sunrisers were quite happy with 178, not knowing Shane Watson was going to play one of the T20 innings of his life.
Dwayne Bravo summed it up best with a broad grin – “We always said experience will get the better of youth”.
Former Australian all-rounder Tom Moody, the Sunrisers’ head coach, added – “We saw something special tonight with Shane Watson’s innings”.
So IPL 2018 is done and dusted after 59 matches in just 50 days.
But it will always be remembered as one of Shane Watson’s finest hours.
John Erichsen
Roar Guru
Some would dispute your claim that the Indy 500 is the biggest motor race in the world, but your comments on Power's success and anonymity are spot on. I think its because Indycar is a series that never engaged Aussie fans. Apparently, its barely worth a replay on tv in this country.
John Erichsen
Roar Guru
Smith especially, but i expect his less than impressive record against Aust and a couple of broken hands might have something to do with that
mark bp
Guest
morning david. great to see shane w doing well in india. i just want to mention to the ROAR that you should do a story on aussie WILL POWER who just won the worlds biggest motor race the INDY 500. the guy is probably australias greatest ever motor racer. in the last 8 years in indy cars he has over 30 victories over 50 poles and one championship. incredible he is not a house hold name in australia.
Basil (the original)
Guest
Check out Watto's record batting down the order in ODI's. You may be surprised.
KenoathCarnt
Guest
Such an underated all rounder in the short form. Most good all rounders kind of just play nice little cameos with bat and ball maybey a quick fire 30 and keeping it tight with the ball. Watson has shown numerous times he can score big totals at an insane strike rate and take the game away from the opposition. I only wish he was younger because he would be the crown duel in the Aus t20 team
KenoathCarnt
Guest
Lol that whole time Graham Smith was destroying him in the commentary box. SA loves to rip into the Aussies whenever possible.
BrainsTrust
Guest
Dads army have performed superbly for them with the bat, but not with the ball. Bravo has been expensive, Singh and Tahir have failed to take wickets. The star performer for them has been Ngidi who was left out of the team for the first half of the IPL.
Matt H
Roar Guru
Short form - yes. Arguably our greatest white ball all rounder and a possible selection in our greatest ever 50 over team. Just misses out because he opens or play number three, so he has to shift Gillchrist, Hayden/M Waugh and Ponting. However, in red ball cricket he was solid but never quite solved the puzzle.
zenn
Guest
A great innings from an unfairly maligned player. Watto is arguably Australia's second greatest allrounder (Keith Miller is #1) and would have been a great Oz captain. Who else could open the batting and the bowling as well as being an excellent fieldsman?
Savage
Roar Rookie
Great Knock from Watto.Can't believe he was 0 from 10 balls at start. A complete turnaround from Villain to Hero.
Matt H
Roar Guru
It's funny how often a player will go berserk if they have a leg injury. I guess it frees the mind. Watson has always been one of the very best limited overs players. Because he can make the fielders effectively irrelevant, he can afford to start slow (10 dots!), knowing he can always catch up in an over. One of my favourites.
JamesH
Roar Guru
The less you want to run, the better you get as a batsman.
AREH
Roar Guru
Vintage from Watto. Some players seem to get better in the T20 format with age