Electing to bat after winning the toss, Kerala was done in by a middle-order collapse. Pradeep Kumar and Sumit Ruikar shared three wickets each for Chhattisgarh.
For Kerala, skipper Rohan Prem top-scored with a 117-ball 62, which was laced with eight fours and two sixes.
Sanju Samson was the other notable contributor with a 37-ball 41, studded with half a dozen fours and a couple of sixes.
Brief Scores:
Kerala: 194/8 in 65 overs (Rohan Prem 62, Pankaj Rao 3/35).