Ranji Trophy 2026-27: Jalaj Saxena’s late strikes help Kerala seize control against Odisha

Kerala’s Jalaj Saxena gave the host a massive lift when he castled Odisha skipper Subhranshu Senapati and dismissed the well-settled Gourav Choudhary. | Photo Credit: NIRMAL HARINDRAN

Odisha would be looking for another divine intervention on Wednesday after bad light stopped play moments after Kerala made late inroads on the third day of the Ranji Trophy match at the Sports Hub Greenfield stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.

Following on, Odisha was tottering at 102 for four when bad light and rain ended play, half an hour before the scheduled close.

Jalaj Saxena gave the host a massive lift when he castled Odisha skipper Subhranshu Senapati (30) and dismissed the well-settled Gourav Choudhary (53), caught by substitute Varun Nayanar at short leg within a span of three deliveries on what turned out to be the penultimate over of the day.

Gourav and Subhranshu had defied the Kerala attack in the post-tea session by adding 71 runs for the third wicket. But Subhranshu missed a straight delivery from Jalaj which didn’t turn while Gourav was defeated by the ball which bounced a little more than the batter had anticipated. The uneven bounce on the wicket had made batting challenging, and both Shantanu Mishra (2) and Om Munde (9) fell to the vagaries of the pitch.

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Earlier, resuming at 114 for three in reply to Kerala’s first innings score of 404, the visitors were pushed early on the back foot when M.D. Nidheesh trapped Sandeep Pattnaik (2) in front.

Ninad Rathva (1) fell cheaply. But Subhranshu (50) and Rajesh Duper (34) counterattacked to add 60 runs for the sixth wicket. But Odisha lost wickets in clusters after Rajesh was caught by Salman Nizar at short leg off Vaisakh Chandran.

Odisha slumped to 193 for nine from 185 for five. Lalit Yadav (37) smote the spinners for four sixes and four in the extended lunch session to give Odisha some hope of saving the follow-on.

But Sarwate pinned him in front soon after the break to end the Odisha innings at 225. The spin trio of Vaisakh Chandran (4/40), Aditya Sarvate (3/56) and Jalaj Saxena (2/76) shared the spoils