Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Watson ton takes Chennai Super Kings to third IPL title

Shane Watson fought through the pain barrier to smash an unbeaten 117 as Chennai Super Kings thrashed Sunrisers Hyderabad to win their third Indian Premier League title in a spectacular return from a two-year corruption ban.

The 36-year-old Australian, struggling with a hamstring injury, hit eight sixes and 11 fours in a stunning 57-ball innings as Chennai took just 18.3 overs to overcome Hyderabad's 178-6 off 20 overs.


Chennai finished on 181-2 to crush their opponents by eight wickets. They have now equalled the Mumbai Indians in winning the world's wealthiest cricket tournament for the third time since it started in 2008.

Ambati Rayudu who hit a four to complete victory was also unbeaten on 16 in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, which was packed with more than 33,000 fans.

He led tributes to Watson.

"His experience saw us through. He is a world class player and when he is there anything can happen," Rayudu said.

Hyderabad coach Tom Moody added Watson had produced "something special".

But the Australian hero said he had been happy to get through the night because of his injury and after failing to score a run in the first 10 balls of his innings.

"I knew I had to start getting runs quickly after those 10 balls," he said.

"We had to get the rate back up to a run a ball. But once the ball stopped swinging, it became easier."

Watson has had longstanding hamstring problems which has worsened as the gruelling IPL season reached the finale.

"Throughout the back end of the tournament I was hanging on for dear life," he said, praising coach Stephen Fleming and captain M.S. Dhoni for the way he had been protected in games.

- Age is just a number -

Chennai, IPL winners in 2010 and 2011, were banned for two seasons in 2015 along with Rajasthan Royals after team officials were found guilty of involvement in illegal gambling.

Dhoni won the toss and put Hyderabad into bat. Their New Zealand captain Kane Williamson hit a top-score 47 as Sunrisers posted 178-6.

The 27-year-old Williamson, a last minute replacement for scandal-tainted David Warner as captain, has been an impressive leader, amassing 735 runs including eight half centuries in 17 matches.

He was supported by Yusuf Pathan who hit an unbeaten 45 off 25 balls, including four fours and two sixes. Carlos Brathwaite also hit an 11-ball 21 to help Hyderabad add 52 runs in the last five overs.

But after reining in Watson at the start and taking South African opener Faf du Plessis for 10 in the third over, the Hyderabad bowlers were put to the sword.

Watson and Suresh Raina put on a swashbuckling 117-run second-wicket stand with Raina hitting 32.

Afghanistan teen sensation Rashid Khan returned figures of 0-24 for Hyderabad but Watson hit the other bowlers to every corner of the stadium.

The big-hitting Aussie allrounder plundered 27 runs off one over of paceman Sandeep Sharma.

Watson took a single off Khan to bring up his hundred in 51 balls and then acknowledged a standing ovation from the Chennai dugout and the crowd with his team already in sight of their IPL triumph.

Watson was just one of nine members of the Chennai squad to be aged over 30. But triumphant captain Dhoni, who has also won three IPL titles, said agility was more important.

"It is the fitness that really matters more than the age aspect," said the former India captain, 36.

"What captains want is players who move well in the field. It doesn't matter which year a player is born in, whether you are 19 or 20 - you have to be agile."

But Dhoni acknowledged that he could not push his whole team to run like a 20-year-old. "If I push Watson to stop a single, there is a very good chance that he'll burst his hamstring and won't be available for the next game.

"So what you tell yourself is that they have to commit and try, but there's no point getting injured for a single."

The winners of the final were guaranteed a minimum $4 million in prize money.

More For You

Starmer faces revolt as welfare bill vote sparks Labour uproar

Keir Starmer speaks during a reception for public sector workers at 10 Downing Street in London on July 1, 2025. (Photo by CARL COURT/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Starmer faces revolt as welfare bill vote sparks Labour uproar

PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer faced the most serious test of his leadership on Tuesday (1) as his government’s flagship welfare reforms came under fierce attack from within his own party.

The day was marked by emotional speeches, last-minute concessions, and a deep sense of division among Labour MPs, many of whom said the proposed changes would push vulnerable people into poverty

Keep ReadingShow less
Lucy Letby

Letby, from Hereford in western England, was charged in 2020 after a series of deaths in the hospital's neo-natal unit.

Three senior hospital staff arrested in Lucy Letby case probe

POLICE on Tuesday said they had arrested three senior staff members at the hospital where nurse Lucy Letby was found guilty of murdering seven babies. The arrests were made on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.

The investigation was launched in 2023 at the Countess of Chester Hospital (CoCH) in northwest England, following Letby’s conviction and life sentence for killings that took place between 2015 and 2016.

Keep ReadingShow less
Dan Houser new game

Fresh take on the open-world genre from one of its most influential creators.

YouTube/ Rockstar Games

Red Dead Redemption creator Dan Houser confirms new open-world game in development

Key points

  • Rockstar Games co-founder Dan Houser is developing a new open-world video game.
  • The game is set in the universe of A Better Paradise, a sci-fi audio series launched in 2023.
  • A Better Paradise is being adapted into a novel series, with the first volume due in October 2025.
  • Houser left Rockstar in 2020 and founded Absurd Ventures in 2021.
  • There is no confirmed release date for the game at this time.

Dan Houser, the acclaimed co-creator behind Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto, has officially confirmed that his new company, Absurd Ventures, is developing a new open-world video game. The title will be set in the universe of A Better Paradise, a science fiction IP first introduced in audio format last year.

A new venture after Rockstar

Dan Houser, a founding figure at Rockstar Games, played a central role in writing and producing some of the studio’s most celebrated titles, including Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto V, and Bully. After leaving Rockstar in 2020, he launched Absurd Ventures in 2021.

Keep ReadingShow less
Diljit Dosanjh
Diljit Dosanjh in a still from Sardaar Ji 3 set for overseas release only
IMDB

Diljit Dosanjh’s 'Sardaar Ji 3' becomes highest-grossing Indian film in Pakistan amid boycott in India

Quick highlights:

  • Sardaar Ji 3 rakes in £275,000 (₹3 crore) on opening day in Pakistan, surpassing Sultan.
  • Diljit Dosanjh responds to backlash: “When we shot the film, everything was fine.”
  • Film was not released in India due to controversy over Pakistani actress Hania Aamir’s casting.
  • Worldwide opening weekend collection touches £1.6 million (₹18.1 crore).

The Punjabi-language horror-comedy Sardaar Ji 3, starring Diljit Dosanjh and Pakistani actress Hania Aamir, has become the highest-grossing Indian film ever released in Pakistan. Despite being banned in India, the film grossed £275,000 (₹3 crore) on its opening day and £825,000 (₹9 crore) over the first weekend in Pakistan alone.

Keep ReadingShow less