Shane Watson fits perfectly in the RCB jigsaw

'Shane Wat...Son! Shane Wat...Son!' doesn't quite have the ring to it as 'ABD...ABD' does. However, the crowd that gathered at the M Chinnaswamy stadium on Sunday (April 17) for the clash between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils were more than happy to clear their throat despite an obvious lack of synchronisation.

Watson is at ease with his surroundings. He walks into press conferences with a smile, isn't shy of greeting the crowd while fielding at the boundary and more importantly plays, with a smile on his face -demeanourthat is more commonly associated with West Indians and not with an Aussie.

When Watson was bought by Bangalore for INR 9.5 Crore in the auction in February earlier this year, it was considered a good move. With his all-round capabilities, he adds more strength to an already power-packed batting line-up and boosts the bowling unit as well.

Watson hasn't set the stage on fire as yet but there have been enough glimpses on how he has fitted perfectly in the Bangalore jigsaw. In his first game for the franchise, Watson walked in at No. 4 with only 16 balls left. The right-hander hammered 19 off eight before he was dismissed. He then followed it up with 2 for 30 to help the hosts canter to a 45-run win against Sunrisers Hyderabad.

On Sunday, Watson got his first proper hit in the middle for Bangalore. He walked in in the 12th over and raced to 19-ball 33 before he was undone by a Mohammed Shami bouncer. On the night, when bowlers leaked runs at more than ten overs in Bangalore's seven-wicket loss, the medium pacer bowled four overs for 25 runs and bagged two sticks.

With Chris Gayle not at his belligerent best, Watson's presence in the middle-order gives Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers much-needed freedom to bat naturally. To add to that, his bowling abilities make things easier for Kohli, the captain.

Kohli too, acknowledged that the inclusion of the former Australian had been a big boost for the squad. "See this is one advantage of having someone like Shane in the middle-order along with AB and myself," he said. "Four international players coming in one after the another, it always helps.