World Of Sports

Shane Watson showcased his all-round talents during the Rajasthan Royals seven-wicket victory over the Bangalore Royal Challengers on Saturday.

Watson claimed 2-20 from his four overs to help restrict the Challengers to 135-8 after they had been asked to bat.

The Queenslander, batting at number four, then scored a measured 61 not out to see the Royals home with 17 balls to spare.

After the early loss of Mahesh Rawat (0) and Yusuf Pathan (21), Watson added 104 with Graeme Smith to turn a potentially tricky run chase into a formality.

Smith (49) holed out to long-on off Sunil Joshi's left-arm spin with just five required but Watson - who faced 41 balls and hit eight fours and two sixes - saw it through to the end.

Taylor blast

After Royals captain Shane Warne won the toss, Watson was on the spot with the new ball, removing Bangalore openers Rahul Dravid (0) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (2) courtesy of catches from Ravindra Jadeja.

Kiwi Ross Taylor was the star performer for the hosts, smashing 44 off 20 balls, before becoming the first of Munaf Patel's two wickets.

However, Taylor got little support from the rest of the middle order - Jacques Kallis (11), Virat Kohli (13) and Mark Boucher (4) all departing cheaply.

Warne's haul of 1-23 bowled a rare maiden, before some late runs from Praveen Kumar (34) helped Bangalore recover from the depth of 78-6.

The result puts the Royals - who have the lowest payroll in the IPL - up to second in the table, while Bangalore are struggling in sixth.