RR vs RCB Highlights, IPL 2024: Jos Buttler’s 100 outweighs Virat Kohli’s 113 as Rajasthan Royals win by six wickets in Jaipur

I think we found the wicket tricky in the first innings. I thought 190 was a good score, think we could have added 10-15 runs max. Their spinners bowled well (in the middle overs), good decision by them to bowl first. With the dew batting got easier. Virat was playing well at the back end, with someone like Green coming in, you want to maximise those last overs. We tried to squeeze as hard as we can, but it was tricky to hit against the spinners. It was easier to hit the seamers. The pitch definitely got better, you could feel it, the ball was skidding along nicely. We were excellent in the first four overs. I think that 20 runs over (from Dagar) took the momentum away and shifted the pressure back on us. Not bowling Maxwell was because all right-handers were batting, so went to the left-handed spinner initially. With two right-handers at the crease, went to the left arm spinner and later got the leg spinner (Himanshu Sharma) into the attack. There was no point of being defensive, we needed wickets. When we got Jaiswal out, I didn't feel the need to go to Maxwell. Fielding was average, it's something we have spoken about, we'll work and try to improve. Not worried about catches, it's about showing intensity on the field.

Jos Buttler hits a six and gets to his 100 to close of the game for Rajasthan Royals. What an innings it has been from the Englishmen. Once again a disappointing performance from RCB. They were there and thereabouts in the game in the first innings but as the second innings progressed RR just took control of the game.

Almost there Rajasthan Royals. It might be one of those rare occasions despite a player scoring a ton in the game Man Of the Match might be handed over to Buttler who is in his 90s and can a ton of his own as well here but unlikely.

Dhruv Jurel tries to work the ball on the leg-side gets the edge and the ball carries to the keeper. Right at the end as the win is visible RR is losing a few wickets and imagining to dig themselves into a hole. 

Parag flicks one straight to Kohli at mid-wicket and walks back for a low score. Two quick wickets that for RCB is it a bit too late only time will tell. However, it was a big tactical error from Faf not to use Vyshak as an impact sub today. 

Siraj bowled a short one which finally worked as Samson tried to pull and got caught at fine leg. Excellent temperament and awareness from Dayal to take the catch. Riyan Parag has walked in and he got off the mark by scoring a nice short-arm-jab.

Du Plessis has gone back to his strike bowlers and they too seem to be ineffective at the moment as Buttler is playing one of those modes where it doesn't matter what the bowling attack is he just lets the game unfold at his tempo.

Buttler and Samson are giving a masterclass of how to bat on this surface and RCB bowlers who have come up with one plan which is to hit the pitch hard are not even trying to alter their method. This is excellent from RR right from the toss they seem to have exactly known what they have been doing. 

If Buttler did in the earlier over Samson played a sublime inside-out shot to bring up his 50. This looks a bit all too easy for RR right now and once again Faf is scratching his head. He just seems to be using the same options differently to try and make them work. 

Buttler has reached half-century. He started scratchily, however, accelerated as he went on. His innings kicked off especially in that final over of Powerplay when he slammed Dagar for 21 runs. It might not be a bad ploy for Faf to try and bring on Maxwell for a few overs.

So far everything has been going to plan for RR in this chase apart from that early wicket of Jaiswal. Both Samson and Buttler have laid a solid foundation here and there is plenty of power that is to come after this. RCB needs to start picking wickets here.

Leg-spinner Himasnhu has been brought into attack and has conceded 14 runs in that first over. He would also create a half-chance as Kohli at cow-corner came forward and tried to take a diving catch and failed. RCB needs to get over Kohli ton hangover from first innings and start picking wickets.

Green has been brought into the attack by Bengaluru and he hit hard lengths and made the batters play to the square boundaries but could not buy a wicket despite the strategy. Samson and Buttler both are looking quite comfortable out in the middle at this point.

Mayank Dagar was employed in the final over by Faf whom the Buttler smashed all over the park extracting 21 runs of that final over. RCB has already named their substitute in leg-spinner Himanshu did they miss a trick by not using seamer Vyshak instead of a leggie.

Yash Dayal has changed ends for RCB and Buttler smoked a couple of boundaries in the over. Despite getting a start the RR opener is still looking scratchy. This has been a good start for RCB and they need to sustain the pressure even after the Powerplay is done.

Samson has looked good so far in his brief innings. He has played a couple of crisp shots. For RCB if it was making the most of Powerplay for RR it is about staying in the game for as long as possible because of the possible dew factor later in the inning.s 

This has been a good start for RCB. Both left-arm-seamers Topley and Dayal have started well, They have hit their lengths, and looks like it is going to be a tricky chase for RR even with Buttler struggling. Siraj has been brought into attack as we update.

RR's opening partnership continues to struggle. Jos Buttler and Yashasvi Jaiswal haven't fired collectively. In their first match, Buttler fell at the end of the second over against Lucknow. In the second match, Jaiswal was dismissed in the second over against Delhi. In their third match, Jaiswal was the first to go again, dismissed off the last ball of the first over. And today, Jaiswal falls for a duck off the second ball. The frustration for Jaiswal as he walked off said it all. The opening partnership for RR has lasted 31 balls in four matches combined.

That's the first over done and RCB has picked up Yashasvi Jaiswal who tried to play a pull of short ball and failed. He got holed by mid-on inside the ring. Big wicket for RCB to defend the total. 

The wicket looks quite different from the outside. It feels like it's flat, but the ball is holding up in the pitch, that's when you realise the pace changes. One of us (Virat or Faf) had to bat till the end. I feel this total is effective on this pitch. I am not coming in with any premeditation. I knew I couldn't get over aggressive, just that I had to keep the bowlers guessing. It's just experience and maturity of playing the conditions. Even if there's dew, the surface is rough and dry, won't be easy for the batters. I couldn't get under the ball against Ashwin. Couldn't slog towards mid-wicket, so had to target straight down the ground.

That's the end of the innings it will give a bittersweet feeling to RCB fans as once again apart from Kohli there have been no contributions whatsoever. Will the total be enough we have to wait and see but despite a top-class innings lack of contributions have left the door open for RR to seal this game.

Kohli completed a sublime 100 as he hit a delivery down the ground of Nandre Burger. It has come off 67 deliveries. That it the eight-ton for the batter shows he still has got it in him. Avesh Khan has taken the ball for the final over.

Another good outing for Chahal as he picked young Saurav who was done by a delivery that was wide outside the off-stump which he tried to cut and done by the uneven bounce ended up giving a simple catch to the point-fielder inside the ring. 

Kohli is now moved into 90's out of 154 runs RCB scored more than half has come from Kohli's bat. With three overs remaining RCB would be hoping to get a substantial quick-fire cameo from debutant Saurav Chauhan.

While the wickets have been falling from the other Virat Kohli is continuing on his merry way and is on course to make his 8th IPL ton. This has been a brilliant innings from Kohli already but the unfortunate part is it is still not enough for RCB to get over the line because of the innings from other players.

Another one falls for RCB. How often we see this after a long partnership one brings in two and it is Maxwell who has another poor score and struggles against high quality pace. RCB needs to be extremely careful not to fall away here.

After getting dropped early in the over Faf tried to take on Chahal once again from outside the off-stump to the leg-side to the shorter boundary however, gets the bottom edge and finds the fielder at long-on boundary. Glenn Maxwell walks into the middle.

The partnership continues to grow for RCB however, they need to top up the ante. Ashwin has been played with too much respect from both the right-handers which is a bit odd. In addition to that RCB doesn't have a world-class spinner of their own which means they have to sub Vyshak and make do with his cutters.

After a frustrating little phase against spin, Virat Kohli managed to hit a couple of sixes. He was on 38 off 35 balls at one point, but going the distance against Yuzi Chahal and the part-time mixture off Riyan Parag takes him to a half century. His reaction though, shaking his head and punching the bat with his gloves, perhaps is a sign that he is frustrated too with how this innings has progressed so far. He can still go big at the backend though, RCB would hope for that.

We are at the halfway mark and the pitch is keeping low already Samson who opted to bowl first would pray that RCB won't get more than 180 and the dew does make an appearance in the second innings. If either of the factors go against him it will be a tricky second innings.

Nice and early, Virat Kohli showed what good form he is on, as he took on the pacers in the powerplay. A pull shot for six off Nandre Burger was a jaw-dropped. But the moment Ashwin came on in the powerplay, he played out three dot balls in a three-run over. And Ashwin's 2nd over is also just singles from both Virat and Faf du Plessis. Yuzi Chahal's first over goes for just four runs too. Is this the approach that will cost RCB again? Despite a strong foundation far too conservative, once spin was brought on. While Du Plessis has been out of form in general, perhaps explaining his slow going, suddenly Kohli is on 37 off 31 despite all the early promise in the powerplay. This is perhaps why he is currently a divisive figure in this format.

We are done with the strategic time out and Ashwin resumed the proceedings. RCB though has a solid foundation one of these batters needs to keep going after the bowling even in these middle overs or they might fall behind and tapper off similar to the way they did against LSG.

Avesh bowled the final over of the Powerplay with fielders both on the square of the wicket. The bowler bowled back-off-length trying to induce a false pull shot on this slower deck. It is a new challenge for the Royals and Samson they need to find bowlers in the middle overs who can create breakthroughs. 

Ashwin has been brought into the attack and he has started well here. Samson has picked the right-end to bowl him as the leg-side boundary is longer for the right-handers with the ball coming into them from the off-spinner.

This is an excellent start for RCB just what the doctor ordered. There has been no swing whatsoever and both Kohli and Faf are hitting the ball on line. Samson needs to adapt quickly and change here tactics. He cannot continue with Boult and Burger for longer.

This is a good start from RCB. Virat Kohli played a majestic pull shot on the leg side and is looking in good touch today. It will be interesting to see how RR will cope on this surface because of the lack of swing early on they might have to turn to their spinners sooner rather than later. 

In IPL history, Trent Boult has taken 25 wickets in the first over, the joint-most along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar. His early threat is now the stuff of legends, not just in this tournament. We saw that only last match against Rohit Sharma and Mumbai Indians. So on top of RCB's checklist would have been to ensure they don't get themselves pegged back early by the Kiwi pacer. Virat Kohli and Faf Du Plessis started off cautiously enough, well aware of the damage Boult could cause. But that didn't mean they were going to miss out on a gift as Du Plessis threw his hands out at a short and wide delivery for a four. One small tick on the many things RCB have to get right to arrest their poor run.

It was a decent opening over from Trent Boult until he bowled a short one of the final ball which Faf smocked over the top through covers for a boundary. Not much of a swing on offer for Boult in that first over as well. We have to see how much Nandre Burger will get from the other end.

It looks beautiful out there. The ground is filled nicely. Both teams would be wary of one short boundary and RCB has right-handers lined up one after the other and need to adapt the way their batting innings accordingly. Virat Kohli and Faf du Plessis have walked into the middle.

"You need two guys to bat through and get a partnership which we were not able to do. We need the strong characters in the dressing room to put their hand up."

I am feeling really good at the moment. Last game I lasted a bit longer than my previous game in the IPL. Dislocating the shoulder there is a lot of rehab to follow. I have been in a pretty good space and managed to contribute towards the back end of last summer then I have been busy with franchise competitions ever since. It (LSG loss) was a bit of game for us to strike through, not let it effect us and today is a fresh game, fresh opportunity to get some points on the board. LSG looked organised and gave us a tough night in Bengaluru. I can put my finger on what the challenges are, we have come up against some good teams and most teams in this competition are going to have a slight hiccup here and there, hopefully we have got ours out of the way nice and early. It is more a matter of time when we are going to click, once we do we are not going to look back. We need to build some momentum and in such competitions we see that you get one win and suddenly you're on a bit of a roll.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru Subs: Suyash Prabhudessai, Mahipal Lomror, Himanshu Sharma, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Swapnil Singh

Rajasthan Royals Subs: Rovman Powell, Tanush Kotian, Kuldeep Sen, Shubham Dube, Abid Mushtaq

Virat Kohli, Faf du Plessis(c), Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Dinesh Karthik(w), Saurav Chauhan, Reece Topley, Mayank Dagar, Mohammed Siraj, Yash Dayal

Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jos Buttler, Sanju Samson(w/c), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, Ravichandran Ashwin, Trent Boult, Avesh Khan, Nandre Burger, Yuzvendra Chahal

We were thinking of the same, it looks a good wicket, think it will remain the same in both the innings. We have one change in our batting line-up. For me it's just a case of trusting our guys. We have been inconsistent, we get an opportunity to do things better. We are trying to find the roles for the players, we are looking for that. That hasn't worked as yet. We haven't delivered. Not many people know him, he has serious amout of skill and batting power, looks like a nice and calm guy.

We would like to bowl first on this wicket. Something to do with the opposition, it's a fresh wicket, expecting some help for the seamers and expecting some dew as well. It's a long season, people are taking responsibility and finishing games. We are going in with the same team.

It's a combination of few things, keeping it simple while batting at number 4, that's helping me this season. I got injured in one of the Ranji games and I got to know that I'll be batting at number 4 for Rajasthan during my recovery process. I got enough time to prepare accordingly. My shoulder is recovering gradually but I am ready to bowl when need arises, Sanju (Samson) has had a word with me about the same. We are trying to bond off the field, the atmosphere in the camp is really good and that's helping us on the field as well.

This has been a 180-kind of a surface. A big venue though. 69m and 63m square boundaries and 76m down the ground. It's a hard surface with a bit of grass cover on it, looks well prepared. You'll get high scoring games at this venue and the batters will relish batting here. Something in it for the fast bowlers as they'll get some extra bounce with the new ball. The spinners will get some turn as well. It looks a bit patchy with a few dry areas. The big boundaries are an encouraging sign for the spinners. Win the toss, bat first, reckons Deep Dasgupta.

Gujarat Titans’ Mohit Sharma retained his lead in the Purple Cap race with 7 wickets after the match between Chennai Super Kings and Sunrisers Hyderabad on Friday. Hi nearest competitor, CSK’s Mustafizur Rahman, who is also with 7 wickets, remained in the 2nd position after not taking part in Friday’s match.

Lucknow Super Giants’ Mayank Yadav who got the better of Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green and Rajat Patidar on Tuesday came down to third while Yuzvendra Chahal and Khaleel Ahmed are in the 4th position and 5th position respectively.

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Abhishek Sharma broke into the Top 5 of the Purple Cap standings with his 37-run innings against the Chennai Super Kings on Friday. Sharma leapfrogged Sai Sudharsan to take up the 5th position in the table.

On Thursday, Shubman Gill’s unbeaten 89 against Punjab Kings helped the Gujarat Titans skipper to move up to 4th in the Orange Cap race with 164 runs.

Ahead of the season, RCB’s win percentage at Chinnaswamy Stadium reads 46.51. To put it in perspective, Chennai has a win percentage of 70.96 at Chepauk, Mumbai 62.33 at Wankhede, Sunrisers Hyderabad 62% at Uppal, and Kolkata Knight Riders 57.31 at Eden Gardens. And they have had another poor start to the campaign this year, winning only one home game out of three and already lingering at the bottom of the table.

Rawat though delivered a sparkling cameo on the opening night against Chennai Super Kings and has given assurances that he can handle pressure at this level on Tuesday he struggled to deal with the pace of Mayank Yadav eventually ending up playing a knock of 21-ball 11 which spiked up the run rate sky high. “Your big-name players who are international players who are supposed to take pressure where are they? Are all in the dressing room. This has been happening for over 16 years for this team.” Rayudu would analyze.

Chasing a big total Faf du Plessis, Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, and Cameron Green all fell cheaply putting the onus on inexperienced Anuj Rawat, Lamror, and others to deliver a match-winning performance. “Look at them who bats in the pressure situations for them? Young Indian batters and Dinesh Karthik,” 6-time IPL winner Ambati Rayudu would critique RCB speaking on Star Sports.

On Tuesday chasing 182 runs things were looking grim for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Kolkata Knight Riders until Mahipal Lamror played a blistering cameo of 33 from just 13 balls pulling back the hosts into the game after a top-order collapse. However, his heroics were not enough for them to get over the line as he lacked support from the other end.

A day prior to the Rajasthan Royals’ tournament opener against Lucknow Super Giants, Parag Das called his son Riyan and asked him: “Do you know why they troll you?” Pat came the reply: “Dad there is expectation, people want me to succeed, and that’s why I am at the receiving end. The day I will start scoring consistently, these trolls will sing my name.”

That day Parag Das, a former first-class cricketer himself, sensed things will change for his son in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL).

Clarity in thought, backing from Rajasthan Royals management and playing domestic cricket for Assam have helped him grow in stature. Riyan's father Parag Das has played first-class cricket from Assam, while mother Mithu Baruah was a national level swimmer.

"Nothing has changed, just that I have simplified things. Before I would think about things too much, this year the goal is simple, watch the ball, hit the ball

"You need two guys to bat through and get a partnership which we were not able to do. We need the strong characters in the dressing room to put their hand up." 

Jos Buttler, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (C & WK), Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, Shimron Hetmyer, R Ashwin, Sandeep Sharma, Trent Boult, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan

Impact Subs: Rovman Powell, Shubham Dubey, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Nandre Burger