Shane Watson: Key player for Australia in one-off T20 against India

Zee Media Bureau/Chaitan Papnai

New Delhi: India-Australia series is all set to kick start, as both the teams will play in the one-off Twenty20 match in Rajkot today. To beat India on its home soil has always been a hard nut to crack, in any form of the game. India’s Twenty20 line up for Thursday’s game looks quite solid on papers, if compared with the Australian team. But in the shortest format, these things don’t matter much as one good performance can take the game away. Though in the form of swashbuckling opener Aaron Finch, skipper George Bailey, wicket-keeper Brad Hidden and all-rounder Glenn Maxwell, Australia have some good hitters but still in today’s game, their trump card would be all-rounder Shane Watson. Watto not only has a fair idea about Indian tracks but also has the potential to change the course of the game either by his destructive batting up the order or by his ability to take wickets. Watson has a rich experience of Indian tracks as he has been playing in these tracks for quite some time now, not only while representing the Australian team, but also while playing for his IPL franchise -- Rajasthan Royals. On top of it, during the recently concluded Champions League Twenty 20, he rubbed shoulders against most of the Indian players who are part of the Indian outfit in one-off Twenty20, while representing RR -- that reached the finals of the championship. So undoubtedly, Shane Watson has to hit the ground running, as he would be the key player for the Australian team led by Bailey.