IPL 2018: Stats on Top Run-Scorers, Wicket-Takers, T20 Strike Rates and More

Shane Watson's stunning hundred saw the Chennai Super Kings to a comfortable 64-run win over the Rajasthan Royals on Friday in the Indian Premier League.

The Australian veteran rolled back the years to hammer 106 from 57 balls, inspiring the Super Kings to a score of 204 for five. In response, Rajasthan struggled and could only muster 140 all out.

Watson's excellent knock pushed him up to third in the race for the Orange Cap, which is awarded to the most prolific batsman in the competition. The 36-year-old has 175 runs from his four games, with Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Virat Kohli (201) leading the Royals' Sanju Samson (187) at the top.

After Friday's game, Delhi Daredevils' Mayank Markande is tied with Bangalore's Chris Woakes as the top wicket-takers in the tournament; they have eight each.

Here are the selected individual standings following Watson's masterclass for Chennai and a look at some of the highlights from the Super Kings' victory.

Orange Cap (Most Runs)

1. Virat Kohli, Royal Challengers Bangalore (201)
2. Sanju Samson, Rajasthan Royals (185) 
3. Shane Watson, Chennai Super Kings (175)
4. Chris Gayle, Kings XI Punjab (167)
5. Nitish Rana, Kolkata Knight Riders (162)

Purple Cap (Most Wickets)

1. Mayank Markande, Mumbai Indians (8)
2. Chris Woakes, Royal Challengers Bangalore (8)
3. Sunil Narine, Kolkata Knight Riders (7)
4. Umesh Yadav, Royal Challengers Bangalore (7)
5. Rahul Tewatia, Delhi Daredevils (6)

All statistics per the IPL official website.

Watson Leads CSK to Top of Table

Rajanish Kakade/Associated Press

At his best, Watson was one of the most impressive opening batsmen in the game in both Test matches and limited-overs games.

He offered a reminder of why in this showdown at the Maharashtra Cricket Association's International Stadium in Pune, although he did have some luck early on, as he was dropped a couple of times in the field.

As noted by the Cricbuzz account, eventually he settled into his groove and started to make the Royals pay:

There was little stopping Watson, as he bullied the bowlers. While he's not the quickest man between the wickets, the Australian compensated by smashing the ball to all corners of the stadium. He finished up with nine fours and cleared the fence a further six times.

Suresh Raina, who made 46, offered the most support to the veteran, as otherwise wickets fell at a regular rate around the opener. In the end, Watson would've been disappointed not to have carried his bat through the innings, as he was caught from the penultimate ball.

Following the century, cricket statistician Mohandas Menon noted it's the more experienced players impressing in the competition so far:

Per the CricTracker Twitter account, Watson had his family at the stadium to offer support during this tremendous innings:

The Chennai bowlers backed up their strong batting performance, with Deepak Chahar removing the dangerous Ajinkya Rahane and Samson early on. The rest of the team chipped in too, with Watson, Shardul Thakur, Imran Tahir, Dwayne Bravo and Karn Sharma all picking up wickets.

In the end, Chennai were the superior side in every department here, and the victory took them to the top of the standings with three wins from four games so far. Rajasthan are struggling for consistency after two wins and three defeats from five.