Whirlwind Watson floors Super Kings

Australian all-rounder Shane Watson crashed through 70 runs off a mere 34 deliveries to give the Rajasthan Royals a straightforward five-wicket triumph over the Chenna Super Kings in Sunday's Indian Premier League fixture at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.

Australian all-rounder Shane Watson crashed through 70 runs off a mere 34 deliveries to give the Rajasthan Royals a straightforward five-wicket triumph over the Chenna Super Kings in Sunday's Indian Premier League fixture.

The Royals have now won all eight of their home games at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipu. The victory propelled the hosts towards a playoff berth as they jumped up to second place in points table thanks to a fine display of batting from Watson.

It might have been a different story after the Royals suffered an early collapse, but Watson blasted a quickfire cameo to make sure they chased down 141-run target with 17 balls to spare.

Stuart Binny also struck an unbeaten 41 off 23 balls, but his 93-run partnership with Watson swung the game in the Royals favour after they were in danger of collapsing at 45 for four after 9.2 overs.

Earlier, Dwayne Bravo hammered 23 runs in 11 balls to help Chennai to a competitive total despite the visitors losing the momentum after they had made 83 without loss after 12.5 overs.

Paceman Kevon Cooper broke the resistance dismissing Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni in one over derailing the Super Kings' innings although opener Murali Vijay stayed firm with a half century to revive the innings.