An unbeaten half-century by Hemant Kumar enabled hosts Kerala to reach a modest 195 for seven in their first innings against the Railways on the second day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group 'A' tie at the Fort Maiden in Palakkad on Sunday.
Kumar was batting on 87 with K N Ananthapadmanabhan on one at stumps, with the hosts still 100 runs behind the Railways' first innings score of 295.
Kerala started their innings on a bad note with openers Sujith Somasundar (9) and M Nathani (5) and number 3 Vipin Lal (0) getting out quickly to leave the side reeling at 19 for 3 in 11.1 overs.
Kumar then steadied the innings and went on to score a fine 87, which included 11 hits to the fence.
Sreekumar Nair also hit a polished 69.
Former India international Harvinder Singh claimed five for 42 while J P Yadav scalped the other two batsman.
Earlier, resuming at 243 for eight, the Railways were bowled out for 295, with the main contribution coming from Shreyas Khanolkar (72).
Brief scores: Railways (1st innings): 295 all out (Sanjay Bangar 45, Tejinder Pal Singh 40, S Khanolkar 72); Kerala (1st innings): 195 for 7 (Hemant Kumar batting 87, Sreekumar Nair 69, Harvinder Singh 5-42, J P Yadav 2-45)