Goodbye Dutch minnows

I won't miss you.

Generally, I like underdogs. But I couldn't bring myself to cheer for Netherlands against Pakistan. Fact of the matter is, I didn't expect Pakistan to keep playing as badly as they did against England (in the bad old days, such an uninspired chase in an important game would have prompted howls of match-fixing). And I didn't expect Netherlands to keep playing as well as they did against England. Thus, looking ahead to a Pakistan-less Super Eights presented an unappetizing picture: we would get a series of games where Netherlands would struggle to both provide quality opposition and where the excitement that Pakistan would bring would be sadly missing. (And of course, as an Indian, I like Pakistan to be around in a tournament - it increases the chances that an India-Pakistan game will take place!).

As things turned out, Pakistan outclassed Netherlands. While the Pakistan batting and fielding is still flaky, their bowling is quite dangerous (Gul, the new Amir, Tanvir (if fit), Afridi and the doosra-bowling Ajmal). No team that plays Pakistan will take them lightly and their presence in the Super Eights will add lustre to its proceedings in a way that Netherlands wouldn't have managed.

So, sorry about not sticking up for the minnows. But this is a world cup, and I want the best teams in there (even if sometimes they take a little while to warm up and should really know better). Minnows, too often, hand out one good performance, and then, simply stink up the scene. I have more faith in Pakistan that they won't do the same.