Argus News - Odisha’s Chance of Quarterfinals at Ongoing Ranji Trophy: An Analysis

Bhubaneswar, Nov 20: After kicking off their Ranji Trophy 2025-26 campaign with a disappointing loss at home followed by an away draw, and suffering defeats in successive matches, Odisha finally opened their win account with an impressive triumph over Nagaland, Wednesday.

The win earned them six crucial points to climb up to sixth place in the eight-team table of Elite Group A. But is it enough going forward in this edition of the competition? What should we expect from the team with only a couple of matches left in the group stage — two big matches to be precise?

Mathematical Equation 

The answer — it’s too little and too late, but not impossible… at least mathematically. However, they have to depend on other teams’ match outcomes.

The format says: Five teams will qualify for the quarterfinals from the top tier (Elite Group A and Group B). Two teams will qualify from the second-tier (Elite Group C) and one team from the lower-tier (Plate Group) for the quarterfinals.

Odisha now have seven points in their kitty. Even if they win their next matches, which are up against Tamil Nadu (currently 7th) and Jharkhand (3rd), Odisha will have 19 points (6 points for a win), and 21 points if they bag bonus points. Going by the number, they will still fall short of second position, currently occupied by Andhra Pradesh with 22 points having two matches in hand.

Therefore, they can only aim for third spot, expecting Jharkhand to lose their other match and hope Uttar Pradesh to lose at least one match and concede first innings lead in a drawn game in the other. They would also hope Baroda to lose or draw (much better if they concede first innings lead in the drawn game) at least one game. This will allow Odisha to seal the third place in the group to give them a chance for the quarterfinals.

However, there are more to this dependency and hope. The Elite Group B matches will also come into play. Meaning — they would at least hope whichever team finishes third in the group, their points should be lesser than Odisha’s (be it 19 or 21). And if multiple teams have same points, then ‘Quotient’ (similar to Net Run Rate) will come into play.

Performance So Far 

vs Baroda: Odisha kicked off their campaign in Cuttack, October 15. The batters had a disappointing outing conceding a huge first innings lead before their second essay turned out as even more concerning. They eventually lost the match by 7 wickets.

vs UP: The batters’ poor run of form continued in the match, played at Kanpur. Their second innings was promising, but the match was already decided by then as they had already conceded a first innings lead. However, they bagged their first point of the campaign conceding three in the process.

vs Andhra: Yet another home match at Cuttack, and yet another defeat. The neighbouring state team outplayed Odisha in both batting and bowling inflicting an innings defeat.

vs Vidarbha: The performance by Team Odisha in the match seemed like a pendulum. The batters were substandard in the first innings, while the bowlers were looked clueless in the second innings. Result: Odisha lost the match by a massive 100 runs, even though not a single innings reached 300.

vs Nagaland: The expectation was high for the Subhranshu Senapati-led Odisha side. The match was at home — in Bhubaneswar — and against a team which are considered minnows in domestic cricket. Although Odisha secured a 299-run victory, but they had to bat twice. The first innings, from batting point of view, was very poor. They were impressive, to some extent, in the second innings. Bowlers were outstanding throughout the match. Yet, there are some ifs and buts.

What’s next? 

Odisha have no other option than to win both the remaining matches. And the win against Nagaland might give them some confidence and momentum. Although, they can’t get complacent given the difference in quality between the opponents they last faced — Nagaland — and next two — Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand.