"It was a very special time in my career," Shane Watson recalls his hundred in IPL 2018 final

Shane Watson played three seasons for Chennai Super Kings before retirement last year.

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) were at their best in the comeback season in IPL 2018. They started with a win against arch-rivals Mumbai Indians, finished at number 2 on the points table with 9 wins in 14 matches, and then went on to lift the trophy by beating Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the final.

Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson was the star performer for CSK in the final against SRH. He scored 117* runs off 57 deliveries in a 179-run chase and single-handedly sealed the victory for his side.

Speaking on ESPNCricinfo, Watson recalled his IPL 2018 final knock which saw CSK winning the match by 8 wickets. "Throughout the season, I was batting better than I had been batting for a light time. I had a bit of confidence going into the final. Also, from my personal perspective, I had a point to prove from my previous experience of playing a final for RCB where I had an absolute shocker," Watson recalled.

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"And I suppose things just matched very nicely throughout that innings. It took me a little few balls to get my innings go. The way Hyderabad bowlers bowled, the ball was coming on to me at a time when I could really feel like I could line up a few of their bowlers," he added.

Watson hit 11 fours and 8 sixes in his knock, having a strike rate of 205.26. He was unstoppable after finding the momentum in the innings. "And, once I got some momentum, just some bowling changes were made at the right time, where I really needed to go hard and I could feel I could line up those bowlers. My misses fell into the gaps. The ball really come out to the middle most of the times.

"Those little things went my way, which for an innings like that for a high-pressure match is something I look back at with quite a lot of fondness. It was a very special time of my career," Watson signed off.

A couple of years back from IPL 2018, Watson had failed to perform for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL 2016 final against the same opposition, SRH. He conceded 61 runs in four overs and could only score 11 runs with the bat. But he redeemed himself in another opportunity, although for a different franchise.