Kerala were 101 for 5 on the first day, and Azharuddeen’s unbeaten 139 set up an innings win over Odisha
Mohammed Azharuddeen’s unbeaten 139 and Jalaj Saxena’s 5 for 34 gave Kerala their first win of the Ranji Trophy season, by an innings and 36 runs against Odisha in Thiruvananthapuram.
Oct 21, 2026
Odisha won the toss in Thiruvananthapuram, sent Kerala in and had them 18 for 3 inside 13 overs. Abhishek P Nair and Jalaj Saxena both went for ducks, and when captain Vishnu Vinod and Salman Nizar followed, Kerala were 101 for 5 and the bowlers were well on top.
Three days later Kerala had won by an innings and 36 runs. Mohammed Azharuddeen finished unbeaten on 139, and Saxena, who had made nought on the first morning, took 5 for 34 to bowl Odisha out for 143 on Wednesday.
The stand that turned it
Sachin Baby and Azharuddeen put on 141 for the sixth wicket. Baby’s 112 came off 235 balls, his 16th first-class hundred, and he fell in the penultimate over of the first day with the score on 242. Azharuddeen, who also kept wicket, batted on through the second morning and ended with 139 not out from 263 balls, with 11 fours.
Aditya Sarwate made 53 off 77 in a seventh-wicket stand of 99, and Kerala were all out for 404 in 129.3 overs. Lalit Yadav took 3 for 53 for Odisha. Azharuddeen was named player of the match.
Two collapses
Odisha’s reply started well enough. Gourav Choudhary and captain Subhranshu Senapati both made fifties, and at 185 for 5 they were still in the game. They then lost three wickets without adding a run, Vaisakh Chandran finished with 4 for 40, and Odisha were all out for 225, 179 behind. Kerala made them follow on.
The second innings went the same way. Choudhary made his second fifty of the match, and Odisha were 100 for 2 late on the third day before Saxena removed Senapati and then Choudhary for 53, two wickets in three balls. Odisha were 102 for 4 at stumps, 77 short of making Kerala bat again.
On the last day, Saxena had Ninad Rathva stumped by Azharuddeen and trapped Rajesh Dhuper and Soumya Lenka lbw. He also ran out Rajesh Mohanty, and the last six wickets went for 41. His 5 for 34 came from 18 overs, seven of them maidens, and Kerala were done before tea.
Bengal next
It was Kerala’s first win of the season after a draw with Jharkhand in the opening round. The seven points take them to eight and third place in Elite Group C, behind Bengal on 12 and Maharashtra on nine. Bengal, who have won both of their matches, are Kerala’s next opponents.