Thaindian News

Dhaka, Apr. 12 (ANI): Australian captain Michael Clarke has described all-rounder Shane Watson’s mammoth 185 off 96 deliveries over Bangladesh as the best innings he has ever seen.

Watson broke the record for most sixes in an ODI innings, smashing 15 of them and as many boundaries, while helping Australia achieve the target of 230 in just 26 overs and win the three-match series 2-0.

The home crowd was left scurrying for cover under a barrage of boundary shots by Watson - who had earlier also taken two catches and a wicket - as his heroics proved too much to handle for the hosts.

Sportinglife.com quoted Clarke, assaying: “That was probably the best innings I’ve ever seen. He hit the ball so cleanly from the first ball today and what an amazing achievement. It was great to sit and watch that.”

“The way he played, he managed to get the runs quite easily.”

Watson attributed luck - and the hot sub-continental conditions - to the way his innings played out.

He said: “(It was) just one of those days when everything you try comes off. You get a little bit of luck along the way which helps as well.”

He added: “I had no idea [about the record]. It was just that I was pretty tired and I didn’t want to run too much. It was just quite hot and humid today so I thought I’d limit my running and hit a few boundaries and it worked out nicely.”

Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan added: “We thought we put on a good, reasonable total. We thought we could fight it out. But we didn’t put the ball in the right areas. And Watson batted really well. He took the game away from us and deserves all the credit.” (ANI)