Shane Watson stole the show at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai as Rajasthan Royals qualified for the Pepsi IPL 2015 Playoffs with a nine-run win over Kolkata Knight Riders. Watson’s unbeaten 104 off 59 balls laid a rock-solid foundation for RR’s sensational victory. While he was the man of the moment in every right, there is one man who deserves a bit of credit for setting Watson free and allowing him to express himself with the bat. Before their previous game (against CSK on May 10), RR made a change in the captaincy as Watson handed over the reins of the team to Steve Smith. The team and Watson himself felt that he needed more mental space to make the best of his batting and bowling skills on which his team depended heavily. Smith stepped forward to take charge of the team and lifted a heavy burden off Watson’s shoulders. The result was there for all to see. After the win against KKR, Smith spoke to iplt20.com on taking up the leadership at a crucial juncture in the tournament and showered accolades on his fellow Australian. You took over RR’s captaincy only recently and you have been part of something very special today. That’s right. At the start of the tournament our goal was to qualify in the top four and we have done that now. I am proud of our team and this is a very exciting time for the Royals. With the qualification to the Playoffs, has the team exorcised the ghosts of the last season? I believe so. This was a must-win game against KKR and both teams had to win to make it to the next stage. Contests like this is what you play for – big games with a lot at stake. To come out on the right side is very pleasing. A word about Shane Watson’s knock. It was outstanding, especially given the situation it came in. Shane and Ajinkya (Rahane) set up a very good platform for us and Shane just carried it on throughout the whole innings. To carry your bat through in a game like this is a remarkable feat and it really set the game up for us brilliantly. He played some really good cricket shots to start with and then began to play some of the bigger shots. We know how powerful he is and when he strikes them clean, they go big. He gave himself a good chance and played a chanceless knock. You deserve a bit of credit for Watson’s knock. You freed him up from the captaincy burden and he expressed himself like he did. That’s what his plan when he handed the captaincy over to me. He said that he wanted to have a clear mind and execute his skills in the best possible way. He did that perfectly with the bat tonight and he was very pleasing with the ball as well. Was it difficult for you to take over the leadership in the middle of the tournament? Not at all. The guys here at the Royals are supportive of everything that happens in the team. We like to change things around and be flexible with our batting order. The boys are really versatile in that way. For me it helped that I captained at the start of the tournament when Watto (Watson) was injured because the guys were used to my kind of style. To be able to come back (as the captain) and take the team to the Playoffs is very pleasing. At any point in the game did you feel the heat? Never (smiles). We were taking wickets consistently and that turned out to be really important. It is imperative to do that in this format because it is the best way to slow down the run-rate. The bowlers did extremely well to take wickets in the middle overs, which helped us get over the line in the end. An extra boost in confidence to know that you made it in the top four by beating the defending champions? It is. But from here on it is going to be a new tournament for us. At least we have to treat it like that. Every game is now a must-win game and we have to come out with the same attitude that we came out with tonight. Hopefully there are some more big results in store for the Royals.