Holding the spirits high

Well I had stated in one of my recent posts regarding the world cup being unofficially declared with the initial games being played between weaker teams and strong ones that does not evoke much interest among viewers. But, at the same time, one has to appreciate the ICC for coming out with such a plan that would keep the spirits of the game high with hardly any room for a fowl play like it has happened in the past. One can imagine Pakistan losing the last game to Bangladesh in the 1999 world cup after they had won matches against New Zealand, Australia and West Indies.

That loss to Pakistan hardly made any difference to the world cup with no team carrying any points forward to the super six stages. But, one match that really mattered was the one between South Africa and Zimbabwe which South Africa intentionally lost in an attempt to eliminate England which was much deserving than Zimbabwe. It is agreed that there is no scientific reason for my statement but, one can imagine the reason with India losing to Zimbabwe in the mast minute by 4 runs. That was also the reason why India failed to reach the semis of the 1999 world cup.

So was the case in the 2003 world cup with Sri Lanka losing to Kenya for reasons assumed that Kenya had gained 4 points from a walkover game against the Kiwis after the latter turned down to tour the country and Kenya had wins against Bangladesh and Canada. This deprived West Indies and South Africa from reaching the super sixes and New Zealand from reaching the semis. A match gifted from Zimbabwe to Kenya saw Kenya reach the semis as well which was unfair. This led to the ICC come out with a different in 2007 with teams divided into 4 groups, with 4 teams in each group.

As a result, any such tricks by teams would mean the end of the team doing it. But, that was a failure with India and Pakistan crashing out from the tournament after they lost to Bangladesh and Ireland respectively owing to overconfidence. But, the current format gives teams a 2^nd chance so that the top four would reach the quarter finals. Once again, any team that tries to act smart will have to pay the price by being the victim itself before making life miserable for any other team. An optimum chance here lies in the fact that even if a team wins against weak oppositions, a place is guaranteed in the quarter finals.

So, with the first 10 days reserved for weaker teams, the best idea for fans who'd have come here to see the world cup would be to visit Tourist Places in India.