A fine spell by leg-spinner Ananthapadmanabhan, who claimed four wickets for 34 runs, restricted Railways to 243 for eight on the opening day of their Ranji Trophy Elite Group 'A' match against Kerala at Palakkad, Kerala, on Saturday.

Opting to bat first after winning the toss, Railways played well below their potential. From a healthy 138 for two in 41 overs, they lost five quick wickets for the addition of just 39 runs, thanks to Ananthapadmanabhan's fine spell.

S Khanolkar steadied the Railway innings and was batting on 42 at draw of stumps. Railways skipper Sanjay Bangar (45), Amit Pagnis (42), and Tejinder Singh (40) were the other notable contributors to the total.

Scoreboard:

Railways 1st Innings
Sanjay Bangar c Kuduva B Anathapadmanabhan    45
Amit Pagnis c Kuduva b Cheruvathur            42
Tejinderpal Singh c Sreekumar b Suresh Kumar  40
Yere Goud c Sreekumar b Anahtapadmanabhan     11
J P Yadav c Oasis b Anathapadmanabhan          9
Siddharth Verma c Kuduva b Anathapadmanabhan   1
Abhay Sharma run out                           1
S Khanolkar not out                           42
Harvinder Singh c Hemanth b Cheruvathur       23
K Parida not out                               0

Extras: (b-3, lb-2, w-1, nb-23)                29

Total: (For 8 wkts in 90 overs)               243

Fall of wickets: 1/80, 2/138, 3/163, 4/164, 5/166, 6/173, 7/177, 8/226.

Bowling: Tinu Yohanan 17-2-46-0, Sony Cheruvathur 25-3-90-2, Sunil Oasis 3-2-12-0, Sree Kumar Nair 8-2-14-0, Suresh Kumar 20-6-42-1, Anathapadmanabhan 17-5-34-4.