Playoffs:Watson says Dhoni is the backbone of CSK

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) all-rounder Shane Watson has once again taken the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018 by storm with his batting prowess and disciplined bowling. So far in the IPL 2018, Shane Watson has scored 438 runs, including one century and two half-centuries, and taken six wickets. Ahead of Chennai Super Kings vs SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) Qualifier 1 at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, Watson showered praise on skipper MS Dhoni for the former's strong performance in the IPL 2018. Watson, who was a part of the Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore before getting picked up by CSK, said that he was fortunate to have an opportunity at for the franchise.

"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 by cricket.com.au as saying.

Talking about how the CSK skipper Dhoni turns the tide of any game in his teams' favour, Watson said, "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.

"Just his 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 former Australian cricketer further added.

"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 remarked.

Watson, who won the IPL 2008 title with Rajasthan Royals, will be aiming to lift his second trophy with CSK, while the Yellow Brigade will be eyeing their third IPL trophy.