Live blog - Samson, Buttler set up Royals' chase after Kohli's ton

A 30-ball half-century from Jos Buttler, dominating proceedings after he saw off a tricky new-ball spell from Reece Topley.

He gets there in the tenth over and at the halfway stage Royals are 95/1, having already razed more than 50% of the target.

Both Samson and Buttler have survived some close chances - catches that were not closed out by Green and Kohli, a a high ball that Dayal did not attack, and at least one chance at a run out (if not two).

They've rode their luck, sure, but also thrown in a few classy pulls, drives and lofted shots to take their partnership to 80+. No real pressure on the home side at the moment and RCB will soon be out of the game unless they get a wicket.

Was that trademark scoop over DK in the fourth over the shot Buttler needed to unlock his form finally? He follows it up with two boundaries off Yash Dayal in the fifth, and the sixth over also sees Buttler smack left-arm spinner Mayank Dagar for four, four, six, and four.

Here's the Mayank over that ended the powerplay:

A total of 20 runs conceded in the sixth as Buttler moves to 39 in 22. ESPNcricinfo's forecaster swings from 63% in RCB's favour to 59% for the Royals in the space of six balls.

An eventful fourth over leaves Rajasthan Royals at 25/1 in four overs.

The first ball from Siraj was scooped by Buttler for four over DK. Next ball Buttler was almost out, surviving only via millimetres after Green couldn't hold on to a tough chance. The following delivery, there was very nearly a run-out before he pinched a single to midwicket and get off strike off the fourth.

Remember that while Buttler has very low numbers this season, Siraj is himself averaging nearly 55 with the ball.

The required run-rate has already touched 10 with 16 overs left.

Awkward bounce onto Jaiswal's body via Reece Topley's bowling, and he has dragged a pull to Maxwell.

That makes it another failure for Jaiswal, who has set very high standards for himself courtesy his own love for scoring big (and fast) runs.

Also the perfect start for RCB, who started this game as the team with the lowest number of powerplay wickets (3) before Topley's scalp.

Virat Kohli hit nearly 62% of RCB's runs to give the away side a 183-run score in Jaipur. He finished unbeaten on 113 and went particularly hard against the Rajasthan Royals pacers. He got solid company from Faf du Plessis, who scored 44 in a 125-run opening stand, and then had to take charge as the other batters couldn't contribute much.

Overall, RCB scored 54 in the last five runs, and Kohli on TV says he was targeting 190 but 184 is a more-than-competitive score on this surface. Also confirms that spinners are tough to play and says the pitch is deceptive visually, where it looks good from outside but sticky inside. Where do you stand?

Sometimes distinctions turn dubious. But the point is he has helped RCB put runs on the board on a day where Maxwell, Green and rookie Chauhan have contributed very little. He finishes with 113*, his joint-highest score.

Slowest hundreds in the IPL: (By balls)

67 - Virat Kohli vs RR, 2024
67 - Manish Pandey vs DC, 2009
66 - Sachin Tendulkar vs KTK, 2011
66 - David Warner vs KKR, 2010
66 - Jos Buttler vs MI, 2022

A 67-ball century for Virat Kohli. Jaipur was his worst IPL venue, and he came into this game averaging under 22 at this venue.

But all that has changed now. This is his third century in his last seven IPL innings, 9th in T20 cricket and eighth in the IPL!

Interestingly, only the second ton in Jaipur in all IPL. The first and only one before was Ajinkya Rahane's 105 vs Delhi in 2019.

Chahal bowls the 18th over of the innings, and since it is the death overs, he gets attacked by Kohli, but concedes only one six in the over. He also removes Saurav Chauhan for a second wicket and eventually finishes with 2 for 34. Remember, he could've got Kohli out on 67 too had Burger held on. He gets subbed out for Impact Player Shubham Dubey.

From the other end, Ashwin concedes only 28 in four overs, keeping RCB quiet through the middle overs. Together, their eight overs for 62 runs means an economy of 7.75 for 40% of the innings.

Yup, just ten away from what could be his eighth IPL century.

Saurav Chauhan, an occasional wicket-keeper and left-hand batter, walks in at No. 4 ahead of Cameron Green or Rajat Patidar. He has a T20 strike-rate of over 150 and impressed with Gujarat at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Saurav had hit the record for the fastest fifty in the SMAT tournament last season in just 13 balls. But that record lasted just one day as Ashutosh Sharma broke it the following afternoon by smashing fifty in 12 balls.

Saurav got into cricket seeing his father go to work everyday. His father was a groundsperson at the Sardar Patel stadium. They lived in the stadium complex for a long time and Saurav would eat, drink and breathe only cricket. He was not selected in the last two auctions, but was purchased for INR 20 lac this time by RCB.

He's in today's XI in place of Mahipal Lomror (bench), who had hit a spunky unbeaten 17 and a solid 33 so in two games. Also missing is Anuj Rawat (not in XVI).

He walks in after Maxwell's dismissal with RCB's score reading 129/2 in 15 overs.

Nandre Burger returns for a third over with a new batter in the middle, and his ploy from around the wicket pays off. He rattles Maxwell's stumps as he hoicks one across the line, and the Aussie is now gone for 1.

This was smart of the Royals to offer Maxwell pace early. He prefers to find his footing early against spin bowlers if you give him a choice.

An eventful 14th over where Yuzvendra Chahal can finally wear a smile after being left distraught two times.

First, he nearly had Kohli out for 67 at the start of the over when the batter cut him square. But a diving Nandre Burger dropped him at point.

Then few balls later, he saw one of the world's best fielders Trent Boult drop a regulation catch at cover to give du Plessis a second life on 42.

But du Plessis did not capitalise on it, going for another big shot later in the over, and he is gone for 44 to long-on.

Chahal with the first wicket of the evening and RCB are 125/1 in 14 overs. Glenn Maxwell at No. 3 with a clear mandate.

With a boundary down the ground, RCB move to 122/0 in the 14th over, and a cursory check at the records table tells us that this is the highest partnership of the season for any wicket!

The century stand is reached in 11.2 overs. Where will RCB finish from here?

Before this game, the highest Kohli had scored in Jaipur in T20s was 39. It is a rare venue where he is yet to hit a half-century. He has looked steady, and of course very regal sporting the orange cap (vs the spinners) as the season's leading run-getter.

He finally enters the forties in Jaipur with a stylish six off Chahal in the tenth over. And then reaches his first half-century in Jaipur by hammering Riyan Parag for a six down the ground in the 11th!

Varun Aaron told us in the ESPNcricinfo studios that Yuzvendra Chahal is the best spinner in IPL history. This season he's had an economy of under six - so I ask, does Chahal deserve to make the cut for the T20 World Cup?

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Trent Boult usually means two wickets in one over, very rarely does it mean two sixes in one over. But Faf du Plessis launches two sixes off short balls and RCB eke out a big over against a big bowler. A total of 16 runs off Boult's third leaves RCB at 79/0 in nine overs

It is the first time this season that RCB have put on a fifty-run opening stand and have lasted the powerplay without losing a wicket. They pinch eight runs off Avesh Khan in the sixth over to finish the powerplay at 53/0.

It is also the first powerplay this season where the Royals haven't taken a scalp. They had taken nine in three games entering this match.

In 20 innings, Kohli has hit Ashwin for 162 runs in 127 balls and has been dismissed only once! Samson goes to his experienced spinner inside the powerplay to stop the flow of boundaries. He provides that with a three-run over.

A few swinging deliveries from Boult and Burger that were not in control, and that's all the invitation needed for Kohli and du Plessis. They smack 21 in the first two overs, followed by 21 more runs in the next two.

Time to introduce R Ashwin as RCB are 42/0 in four overs. Interestingly, it is the first time that Trent Boult hasn't bowled three overs in the powerplay in IPL 2024.

14 innings, 3 dismissals, ave 119.6, strike-rate 168.

4 innings, 4 dismissals, ave 16.2, strike-rate 119.

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The RCB captain has struggled this season and Trent Boult will test him. However, Boult has dismissed him only three times in 15 innings.

As for the other new-ball bowler Nandre Burger, du Plessis knows him really well as his captain at the Joburg Super Kings in SA20. Will he survive the powerplay this time around?

Virat Kohli has been dismissed seven times by Sandeep Sharma - the most one bowler has dismissed Kohli in the IPL - but he is out injured, so that's a relief for RCB fans.

However, to boost the morale of the Royals fans, here's another stat: Kohli has never scored a fifty at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in T20s and his batting average here is 21.28, his worst among all venues (min 8 innings).

Is this the game Virat changes his relationship with the pink city?

The Royals are playing for a cause tonight - women's empowerment. The jersey bears a darker shade of pink as we see Sanju Samson for the toss. He says he expects some dew later after winning the coin flip. Also says he isn't worried about the poor form of his openers, says he doesn't expect everyone to fire everyday. They are unchanged.

Faf du Plessis says he isn't sure how the pitch will play but expects it to be good for both innings. Says there's one change in the batting to give it some injection. Also admits the team hasn't clicked yet. Confirms left-hand batter Saurav Chauhan has been named in the XI, in place of Mahipal Lomror.

The last time these two sides met in Jaipur, it was a day to forget for the home side, suffering their biggest defeat.

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The Rajasthan Royals bowling unit looks menacing already, and to embellish it further, the management roped in Shane Bond as bowling coach from Mumbai Indians between seasons.

A stacked top order, a relatively inexperienced lower order, a struggling bowling unit, and a side in trouble very early in the season. Never a good sign for a campaign but somehow it appears to be familiar territory for RCB.

It looks good for RCB when that top order comes off, but it hasn't so far, and against arguably the best bowling attack of the season, they will have their task cut out. Here's more from Karthik Krishnaswamy in the preview.