"Thank you for going easy on me" - Shane Watson's sarcastic message to Wahab Riaz about 2015 World Cup encounter
The spell that Wahab Riaz bowled to Shane Watson at the Adelaide Oval on 20th March in 2015 is something no cricket fan will ever forget. The Pakistan pacer was breathing fire as Shane Watson remained a clueless on-looker, ducking hard and even taking a few body blows during the encounter.
Wahab Riaz's bowling effort against Watson remains one of the most brutal spells in the history of ODI cricket. The Pakistan pacer tried to unsettle the former Australian all-rounder by peppering him with some lethal short balls to get on his nerves.
As it's been six years since the incident, Shane Watson took to Twitter to share his memories of the encounter. He deemed Riaz's spell to be one of the most colourful memories of his career and even sarcastically thanked the Pakistani pacer for going easy on him.
"One of the more colourful moments in my career. Thank you @WahabViki for going easy on me," wrote the former Australian cricketer.
Shane Watson survived Wahab Riaz's lethal spell to take Australia to the semis
Since it was a quarter-final clash, Shane Watson had to ensure that he didn't get carried away after the barbarous spell. His stay in the middle was important for Australia to make it into the semi-finals of the tournament.
Watson was unaffected even after all the sledging from Riaz. While chasing a target of 214, the Aussie played one of the best knocks of his career after Australia seemed to be in some trouble during the chase.
The all-rounder remained unbeaten on 64 off 66 balls and even took the attack to Wahab Riaz in the later parts of his innings. Steve Smith's 65 off 69 and Glenn Maxwell's unbeaten 44 off 29 balls also helped Australia win by 6 wickets to advance to the next stage of the tournament.
Australia used the momentum from the game and thrashed India by 95 runs in Sydney to enter the finals of the 2015 World Cup. They then defeated New Zealand by 7 wickets at the Melbourne Cricket Ground to win their fifth 50-over World Cup.