Kolkata: Odisha head coach Pravanjan Mullick has thrown his weight behind his young squad despite a difficult start to the Ranji Trophy season, insisting the team has the character to recover from back-to-back defeats.Odisha suffered an innings and 36-run defeat against Kerala in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. Resuming the final day at 102/4 in their second innings after being asked to follow on, and still 77 runs behind Kerala’s first-innings total of 404, Odisha lost their remaining six wickets for just 41 runs to be bowled out for 143. The setback came on the heels of a 10-wicket defeat to Gujarat in their season opener.Yet Mullick remained optimistic. “I’ve spoken to the players individually and tried to motivate them. They are disappointed, but I have complete confidence in this team. They will bounce back very soon,” the coach told TOI from Thiruvananthapuram after the match.While Odisha’s results have been disappointing, Mullick pointed to encouraging signs at the top of the order.“We were looking for an opener and I think we have found one. Gourav Choudhary, though he’s not a youngster, has scored more than 230 runs in two matches. That’s a positive for us.”The coach, however, admitted Odisha let a crucial opportunity slip in Kerala’s first innings. The visitors had the hosts under severe pressure at 58/4 and then 101/5, only to allow them to recover past 400 and seize control of the match.“From 58/4 and then 101/5, Kerala went on to score more than 400 runs. That’s where the match went away from us,” Mullick said.A major turning point was the reprieve handed to Mohammed Azharuddeen, who was dropped on seven before going on to score a match-defining 139 from No. 7 and earn the Player-of-the-Match award. Veteran spinner-all-rounder Jalaj Saxena took 5/34 in the second innings to accelerate Odisha’s downfall.“Azharuddin was dropped when he was on seven. A couple of catches went down, and there was a big partnership. Those moments took the match away from us,” said the coach.Mullick also wants his experienced batters to make their starts count. “I have a lot of confidence in Subhranshu (Senapati, captain). He knows that 30s and 50s are not helping him or the team. The same applies to Sandeep Patnaik. I’ve told them that one big innings can save or win a match,” he added.The coach believes improvements are needed with both bat and ball. “We need bowlers who can come in and take five wickets consistently. If we can do that and our batsmen convert their starts into big scores, Odisha will do much better.”With a home clash against Services up next, Mullick said the side would use the short break to regroup. “We’ll practise for the next three days (from Friday), assess what went wrong and work on how we can do better in the next match.”Brief scores: Kerala 404. Odisha 225 & (f/o, o/n 102/4) 143 in 58.3 overs (Jalaz Saxena 5/34). Kerala won by innings and 36 runs.Points: Kerala 7, Odisha 0.