Kerala thumps Odisha by an innings and 36 runs in Ranji Trophy at Greenfield
Kerala completed an innings and 36-run victory over Odisha at the Sports Hub, Greenfield International Cricket Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram in their Ranji Trophy match on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. Rain arrived in the afternoon but it came too late to affect the result, with Kerala finishing the job in the first session on day four.
Kerala posted 404 in their first innings, reaching that total in 129.3 overs with Mohammed Azharuddeen unbeaten on 139 and Sachin Baby contributing 112. Aditya Sarvate added 53, Abhijith Praveen 14 and M.D. Nidheesh 15; the innings included 17 extras (b-7, 1b-9, w-1). Odisha’s bowlers saw Rajesh return figures of 22-7-81-2 and Lalit 20-2-53-3 while Badal took 32-5-93-1.
Kerala required only 23.3 overs on the fourth morning to dismiss Odisha for 143 in the second innings, sealing the innings-and-36 victory. Jalaj Saxena led the charge with disciplined bowling and variations that unsettled Odisha’s batsmen, and the match was wrapped up before the afternoon showers affected play.
The overnight pair of Sandeep Pattnaik and Ninad Rathva had resisted Kerala’s attack for more than an hour before the breakthrough came; Jalaj deceived Ninad (10) with a slower delivery and Mohammed Azharuddeen completed the stumping. Rajesh Dhuper (2) was then trapped in front by a quicker ball from Jalaj, and Soumya Lenka (5) was adjudged leg before to the off-spinner.
Sandeep’s vigil ended when he spooned a catch to Abhijith Praveen off Aditya Sarvate for 14, and Jalaj finished with 18-7-34-5 in the second innings. Sarvate supported with 13.3-2-45-2, Vaisakh Chandran returned 14-0-32-1, Nidheesh 9-3-18-0, Abhijith 3-1-6-0 and Vishnu 1-0-2-0 in Kerala’s second-innings bowling analysis.
Two run outs involving Rajesh Mohanty and Badal Biswal followed Jalaj’s 37th five-wicket haul in First Class cricket and brought a swift end to Odisha’s innings; Lalit Yadav, who came in and struck a six off Jalaj, was left not out on 11. Odisha were all out for 143 in 58.3 overs, with extras (b-6, nb-1) 7.
Odisha’s first-innings total had been 225 in 84.1 overs, with Gourav Choudhary 50, Subhranshu Senapati 50, Lalit Yadav 37 and Rajesh Dhuper 34 among the contributors. Kerala’s bowlers in that innings were Nidheesh 11-2-35-1, Sarvate 28.1-10-56-3, Jalaj 23-2-76-2, Abhijith 5-0-16-0 and Vaisakh 17-2-40-4.
Kerala will meet Bengal in their next Ranji Trophy fixture, while Odisha, after suffering a second consecutive defeat, will return home to face Services.
