Bengaluru

Former Australian cricketer Shane Watson has apologised to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) fans for his performance in the 2016 Indian Premier League (IPL) final. Watson was donning the RCB jersey at the time but had a poor all-round showing in the summit clash which eventually cost the franchise its first-ever title. 

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Speaking during an event at Presidency University in Bengaluru, Watson said he wanted to 'profusely' apologise for his performance on that fateful night. 

“To all the RCB fans here tonight, I need to profusely apologise, I was prepared as well as I could," said Watson in the video clip going viral on social media. 

"I was hoping to perform my very very best, but I had one of the worst performances when it comes to the bowling perspective in the final. And I most probably cost RCB winning that season,” he added.

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Watson's woeful performance

Bowling first, RCB could not contain the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) batters as Watson leaked 61 runs in his quota of four overs. It was perhaps the reason why SRH ended up with a mammoth 208 run total in the final. 

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During the chase, despite Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle providing a 114-run opening stand in 11 overs, RCB failed to chase down the total, falling short by an agonising margin of eight runs. Watson could not redeem himself with the bat either and departed after playing an attritional 9-ball 11-run knock. 

The 2016 season is remembered for Kohli's scintillating form as the ex-RCB skipper broke all batting records by scoring 973 runs in 16 innings at an average of 81.08 and strike rate of 152.03. More impressively, Kohli smashed four centuries and seven fifties, whilst taking RCB single-handedly into the finals.  

Also read | IPL 2024: 'I don’t want...,' RCB's Virat Kohli on what next for team after entering playoffs

After an eight-year gap, RCB now have the opportunity to do the impossible yet again as they qualified for the playoffs after being on the brink of elimination. Having won their last six matches, RCB are in the Eliminator where they face out-of-form Rajasthan Royals.

While Watson may have failed in the 2016 final, he managed to be the star for Chennai Super Kings and guided the franchise to its first title after returning from a two-year ban in 2018. Watson smashed an unbeaten ton (117*) as CSK chased down the 179-run target against SRH.  

(With inputs from agencies)