India vs Australia: Shane Watson justifies Twenty20 credentials as IPL, 2016 WC looms

New Delhi: In-form Australian veteran all-rounder Shane Watson is justifying his credentials in the shortest format of the game after coming back to the national set-up. On Tuesday, the experienced player was the best bowler in his side against India in the first T20 game of the three-match series in Adelaide.

Watson had an impressive figure of 4-0-24-2 and looked very assured with the ball. His slow ball bouncer that followed Shikhar Dhawan all the way as the batsman managed to nick it to the wicketkeeper, was a peach of a ball. He also bagged the timely wicket of Rohit Sharma.

Though he managed to score only 12 runs in Australia's chase, Watson's overall outing can be lauded.

Watson hadn't been a part of the Australian team for quite sometime in both ODIs and T20s and now with this chance he has shown that he belongs here. Watson was a key member of the Sydney Thunder who won the Big Bash League title on Sunday.

There has been an increase in pace by Watson and his fitness looks to the fullest. Watson's attributes is key for Australia who are rich in their bag of all-rounders. The 34-year-old is showing that he has the right mentality to fight for a place in the side.

Coming down the order to bat for Australia, Watson may not get enough chances at the crease and that's why his bowling bears importance.

His consistency with the bat and ball in the Big Bash League was pivotal for him. With the Indian Premier League auctions coming up on February 6, followed by the crucial ICC T20 World Cup in March, Watson knows his performances need to be big in order to make the cut in both the upcoming tourneys.

Shane Watson who was amongst the names to miss out surprisingly in the 10 players drafted by new franchises Team Pune and Rajkot on December 15, 2015 auction. He now will get another chance when the auctions take place in February. He has been a consistent performer for the now suspended Rajasthan Royals over the years.

Watson has played in seven IPL seasons and scored 2372 runs with a decent average of 36.49. His bowling too has been good with 61 wickets in 78 matches to show his prowess in both sections.

Watson needed to perform well so that it can can help him to find takers in the February auction. Also the T20 World Cup starts in March 2016 and Watson now back in the Aussie set up once again, will be hungry to make it count.