Shane Watson almost pushed his team, Chennai Super Kings, over the line in the IPL Final against Mumbai Indians. While he may have fallen just short of victory in the game, his effort has garnered praise from all quarters. What makes his innings even more admirable was that he suffered an wound in his leg which caused bleeding and had to be sewed up with six stitches after the end of the match.
Photograph of the CSK batsman showing his trousers stained with blood around the knee area is being viewed and commented upon on social media. Fans and cricketers alike are expressing their praise for the Australian's commitment as well as dedication to his team's cause.
Nature of injury
The injury resulting in the bleeding occurred when Watson put in a desperate dive to make his ground during the early part of his innings. Despite being dropped three times in the match, the retired Test cricketer kept going and seemed to have sealed the game for his team by hitting three sixes in the 18th over of the innings bowled, inexplicably, by Krunal Pandya.
Eventually, the right-hander was dismissed on 80 in the last over of the match. With his wicket, Mumbai's chances increased and thanks to some clever bowling by Lasith Malinga, the Rohit Sharma-led team were able to render Watson's resistance futile.
It was a mixed season for the member of the 2015 Australian World Cup winning squad. He had problems with his form but then found it towards the end of the season. It was he who led his team to victory in the last year's Final against Sunrisers Hyderabad with a superb knock in the Final of that edition.
The most profuse in praise was Watson's Super Kings teammate Harbhajan Singh. The former off-spinner wrote: "Can you guys see the blood on his knee. He got 6 stitches after the game ... got injured while diving but continue to bat without telling anyone. That's our @srwatson33. Almost pulled it (off) for us last night." It certainly was a gutsy innings but one which, unfortunately, ended up on the losing side.
