Short Corner 8212; Chadigarh

India thank heavens for reprieve
The plight of the Indian cricket team this afternoon was as messy as the Kallang Oval later in the day. Sachin Tendulkar8217;s men were tottering at 149-6 off 38.2 overs when a rain storm lasting 20 minutes threw a wet blanket on the Singapore Challenge Cup final.

Norman withdraws
Fifth-seeded Brazilian Gustavo Kuerten reached his first ever US Open quarter-final here today when Sweden8217;s Magnus Norman retired from the fourth round match with a back injury. Kuerten led 7-6 7/4 when Norman, nursing a sore back, called it a day.

Sanjay leads
Defending champion Sanjay Kumar of Lucknow believed that he can win the Colour Plus golf tournament for the second year running after carding a five-under 65 to head the field after the first round. But then, he leads by just two strokes over Amritinder Singh, India Cements-sponsored Harmeet Kahlon and GS Sethi, all of whom returned three-under 67.