Almost assured of securing a place in the play-offs of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL), in-form Rajasthan Royals all-rounder Shane Watson says they know how to “beat Mumbai Indians” in their own den.
“Well the most important thing is to keep playing good cricket. We played Mumbai Indians here at home and beat them very convincingly in the last game. So we know exactly what we have to do to beat Mumbai Indians,” Watson said.
Rajasthan, who are sitting pretty at the second position, play Mumbai in their next match on Wednesday.
“We have had a bit of success in Mumbai the last few years as well in the Wankhede Stadium. It is a beautiful wicket so I am looking forward to playing there,” he said.
The Royals have maintained their unbeaten streak at home intact as they recorded a comfortable five-wicket win over table toppers Chennai Super Kings at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium on Sunday, and Watson played a key role with a swashbuckling 34-ball 70.
“We have had a lot of success here, lot like the first year I played here. We certainly know the conditions well and most importantly we have got a really good team at the moment. Everyone is chipping in when we need to, so it is working out nicely,” the Aussie said.
On Stuart Binny’s innings —— he scored 41 off just 23 balls —— Watson complimented the player from Bangalore.
“Stu has been amazing, both with the bat and the ball. The conditions suited him beautifully. He swung the ball nicely and with the bat he just comes out and finds the boundary very much straightaway. That certainly takes a lot of pressure off me. Initially when he first came out, I suppose that over from (Ravichandran) Ashwin was going to be really important to be able to try and pull that run rate back a little bit.”
And when asked what he told Binny after losing four wickets early, he said, “We didn’t talk that much to be honest. We knew instinctively that Ashwin was going to be someone we have to really try and score runs off.”
