Rajasthan Royals 189 for 4 (Buttler 100*, Samson 69) beat Royal Challengers Bengaluru 183 for 3 (Kohli 113*, du Plessis 44, Chahal 2-34) by six wickets

With no batter apart from du Plessis contributing, the onus was on Kohli to lift the innings regularly. He did so successfully, carrying the bat till the end, but their total of 183 proved insufficient, sending them to their fourth defeat in five games.

Buttler leads, Samson follows

With scores of 11, 11, and 13, Buttler came into the game needing to change his fortunes. More so after he saw Yashasvi Jaiswal fall for a duck to Reece Topley. Then came a trademark Buttler scoop over wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik in the fourth over, his first boundary of the night.

Having got that one away, Buttler survived a tough catching chance on 6 the next delivery. That, however, did now slow him down. He launched into Yash Dayal and then hit left-arm spinner Mayank Dagar for three fours and a six in a 20-run sixth over. With Samson also matching him shot for shot, Buttler reached his first fifty of the season in the tenth over.

Buttler was especially strong against the inexperienced spinners Dagar and Himanshu Sharma. They often erred with their lengths, and he pounced on short balls by pulling over the leg side. He also pierced boundaries through the covers and ran down the pitch to hit both spin and pace down the ground.

His connections got better as the innings progressed, on display when he picked Dayal's slower ball in the 13th over, had to wait ages for it to arrive where he stood and still flat-batted him for six. With one to win at the start of the 20th over, Buttler had a fairytale end to his evening when he pulled a six to reach his ton and seal the deal.