Watson announces his retirement: I feel crazily lucky to have lived out my dream

 Watson announces his retirement: I feel crazily lucky to have lived out my dream

Shane Watson has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, revealing the time feels right after living out his boyhood dream.

The former Australia all-rounder has decided to end his playing career after concluding his duties for the Chennai Super Kings at the 2020 Indian Premier League.

Watson - who scored 14 in his final appearance against Kolkata Knight Riders - played in 59 Tests, 190 one-dayers and 58 Twenty20 games during an international career that spanned 14 years.

Since his last appearance for Australia in 2016, the 39-year-old has been in action in T20 leagues around the world, including stints in the IPL, Pakistan Super League and the Caribbean Premier League.

"It all started out as a dream," Watson said in a video posted to his own YouTube channel. "As a young kid saying to my mum as I watched a Test match as a five-year-old, 'I want to play cricket for Australia'.

"Now as I officially announce my retirement from all cricket, I feel crazily lucky to have lived out my dream and then some.

"It really does feel like the right time knowing I played my last game of cricket ever for my beloved CSK who have been so incredibly good to me over the last three years.

"To think I'm finishing up my playing days as a 39-year-old after all of my injury setbacks along the way, I feel so ridiculously fortunate."

Watson scored four Test hundreds and averaged just over 40 in the ODI format, often batting at the top of the order for Australia.

The big-hitting right-hander starred for Chennai in the 2018 IPL final, smashing 117 not out to help the franchise secure a third title in their history.

He scored 299 runs at an average of 29.90 in this season's competition in Abu Dhabi, though was unable to help the Super Kings qualify for the play-offs.

Capitals seal second place, RCB qualify despite defeat

Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan struck half-centuries as Delhi Capitals secured second place and Royal Challengers Bangalore also qualified for the Indian Premier League play-offs despite a six-wicket loss.

The winner of the penultimate match of the regular season at Zayed Cricket Stadium was guaranteed to face Mumbai Indians in Qualifier 1 on Thursday and it was Delhi who came out on top.

RCB remain in the hunt for the title, though, progressing as their net run-rate is better than fourth-placed Kolkata Knight Riders finished with.

Sunrisers Hyderabad can seal the final play-off place at the expense of KKR if they beat defending champions Mumbai on Tuesday.

RCB posted 152-7 after being put in, the consistent Devdutt Padikkal making 50 off 41 balls and AB de Villiers 35 from 21 in Abu Dhabi on Monday.

South Africa pacemen Anrich Nortje (3-33) and Kagiso Rabada (2-30) played big hands for the Capitals once again to restrict Virat Kohli's side to a below-par total.

Dhawan (54 off 41) and Rahane (60 from 46) put on 88 for the second wicket to put the Capitals well on their way to victory.

PROLIFIC PADIKKAL, PROTEAS DUO STAR AGAIN

Padikkal has been one of the shining lights for RCB and the 20-year-old moved above his captain Kohli in the list of leading run-scorers in the 2020 tournament.

The opener matched KL Rahul's tally of five half-centuries in this year's competition, hitting five boundaries as he anchored the innings before the excellent Nortje removed his middle stump.

Ravichandran Ashwin, who opened the bowling, had Kohli caught in the deep for 29 off 24 balls and Rahane ran De Villiers out with a great throw in the final over after the wicketkeeper-batsman had cleared the rope twice.

Rabada, the leading wicket-taker in the tournament, has two more scalps than Jasprit Bumrah with 25 after dismissing Josh Philippe and Shivam Dube.

DHAWAN AND RAHANE DELIVER

Dhawan has also had an outstanding tournament and only his India team-mate Rahul has scored more runs than him.

The left-hander demonstrated majestic timing and power once again, finding the boundary six times as he and Rahane stepped up when their side needed them.

Rahane's half-century was his first in six knocks, a timely return to form, and he hit one of only two sixes in the run chase under pressure.

Shahbaz Ahmed saw the back of Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer before Rahane fell to Washington Sundar, but Rishabh Pant and Marcus Stoinis finished it off.

Cummins and Morgan keep KKR alive and knock out Royals

Pat Cummins took four wickets after Eoin Morgan blasted a half-century as Kolkata Knight Riders kept their play-off hopes alive and ended Rajasthan Royals' Indian Premier League season with a 60-run victory.

Both sides needed an emphatic win in their last match of the regular season to stay in the hunt for a place in the last four and it was KKR who delivered.

Morgan's side are up to fourth and must now wait for the outcome of the clashes between Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bangalore on Monday and Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians the following day to see if they qualify.

England ODI captain Morgan top scored with 68 not out off 35 balls to get the Knight Riders up to 191-7 at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Shubman Gill (36) and Rahul Tripathi (39) also chipped in, while Rahul Tewatia was the pick of the bowlers with 3-25 and Jofra Archer (1-19) was outstanding yet again.

The Royals could only muster 131-9 in reply, paceman Cummins doing the bulk of the damage with 4-34.

Defeat for Steve Smith's men leaves them bottom of the table despite a late resurgence, Shivam Mavi and Varun Chakravarthy taking two wickets apiece as they fell well short of their victory target.

MORGAN GIVES STOKES A TASTE OF HIS OWN MEDICINE

Gill and Tripathi put on 72 for the second wicket in eight overs after Archer had Nitish Rana caught behind for a golden duck in the first over.

Tewatia got rid of Gill and Sunil Narine in a ninth over that went for just six runs, but skipper Morgan flexed his muscles in dewy conditions and Andre Russell smashed 25 off 11 balls.

Ben Stokes had a day to forget, Morgan hitting his England team-mate for back-to-back sixes in a penultimate over that cost 24 runs, with the left-hander – who cleared the rope six times – also setting about Shreyas Gopal.

RAPID CUMMINS RATTLES ROYALS

The Royals needed their key men such as Stokes and Smith to fire, but their tournament was all-but over when they were 41-5 at the end of the powerplay.

Cummins steamed through the top order, removing Robin Uthappa, Stokes, Smith and Riyan Parag.

Jos Buttler made 35 and Tewatia 31 but Rajasthan were never going to recover from Australia paceman Cummins' devastating early hostile burst.