Picked by Chennai at this year’s auctions, the former Australian all-rounder was happy to repay their faith with a career-best 106 in Pune on Friday April 20.

“There’s no doubt I had extra motivation tonight against Rajasthan,” said Watson. “Nice to put in the performance that I did tonight. Grateful for the opportunity I’ve had for Chennai. Glad to be able to repay them tonight.”

Ben Laughlin, Rajasthan’s paceman from Australia, reflected on Watson’s brilliance. “I think Watto was a bit more classical batsman I would say,” he said after the match. “He has amazing power. He’ll hit balls where they are supposed to go. It’s disappointing from Rajasthan’s point of view that Shane got runs, but he’s a serious player.”

Watson’s was the second century of this year’s IPL, with the first one coming from Kings XI Punjab’s Chris Gayle.

Watson was all praise for Gayle, calling him the “greatest T20 batsman” in the world. “To be able to score so many T20 hundreds — that’s the reason he’s called the Universe Boss. He keeps bossing attacks around the world.”