New Delhi: Kerala outplayed Odisha by six wickets in their Vijay Hazare Trophy Elite Group B match here on Friday.
Kerala, who suffered a shock seven-run defeat to Andhra in their opening match, came up with a much improved performance to overpower Odisha.
Left-arm spinner Akshay Chandran (4/29) and off-spinner Jalaj Saxena (3/24) helped Kerala bundle out Odisha for 117 in 34.4 overs after opting to field.
Subhransu Senapati top-scored with 26, while Abhishesk Raut (23) and captain Govinda Poddar (22) too put up some resistance.
Kerala lost openers Jalaj Saxena (4) and Vishnu Vinod (10) cheaply. However, Sanju Samson (25) and Sachin Baby (41) put on 37 for the third wicket to arrest the slide.
Captain Sachin and fellow left-hander Salman Nizar (31 not out) took Kerala to the doorstep of victory before the former perished to Pappu Roy. Kerala were home and dry with more than 12 overs to spare.
Kerala have four points from two matches, while Odisha are yet to open account having lost both their games.
Kerala next meet Chhattisgarh on Sunday.
Brief scores: Odisha 117 all out in 34.4 overs (Akshay Chandran 4/29, Jalaj Saxena 3/25) lost to Kerala 118/4 in 37.3 overs (Sachin Baby 41).
Points: Kerala 4; Odisha 0.
