The strange case of the second game

It's quite a strange phenomenon. Even though England lost the first game to Netherlands, by beating Pakistan they booked a spot in the Super 8. And guess who they might end up throwing out of the tournament - Netherlands!! Pakistan have the not so tough task of beating Netherlands today by about 25 runs (if they set the target) or with about 3 or 4 overs to spare (if they chase) to knock them out of the tournament. It would be an undeserving spot in the Super 8 for both England and Pakistan then.
That led me to a thought about the other groups too. Except for Pool B, all other pools have had the team playing their second successive match lose their second successive match and thereby getting eliminated. So, by the time teams go on the field to play the third game of the pool, we already know who has qualified. That makes the format of the game very less interesting. May be they should have thought of having two league games for every team against each other. That would have made it absorbing.
Theories aside, like every other WC this one also has its share of surprises. Australia have not been able to do what Ireland and Netherlands have done and that is to win a match at the WC. Chris Gayle, Brendon Macullum, Ishant Sharma, Ajanta Mendis - they were down in the drains a month back and suddenly in just in the matter of one match have become one of the major factors for their team's progress in the tournament.
Headlines Today threw up a huge load of shit by "breaking" the story of the rift in the Indian team just before the WC began. And they were taken aback by the response of MSD and tried to delve further into mocking the Indian team. Unfortunately for them, nobody seemed to notice them after that fracas. HT, I have a suggestion for you - stop your sensationalism with bollywood. Venturing out of that small circle is a big risk considering the potential of your anchors and producers.
ESPN Star must soon realize that this is T20 cricket. It is not enough if they cover the T20 tournament. They should change their outlook also to suit the format. Alan Wilkins and Harasha Bhogle are still in the test mode - time to switch please!!