Following is a more simple way:
<table>
<tr ng-repeat="item in lists" ng-hide="$index%2!==0">
<td>
<label>{{ lists[$index].name}}</label>
</td>
<td ng-hide="!lists[$index+1]">
<label>{{ lists[$index+1].name}}</label>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
Cumulo Nimbus's answer is useful for me but I want this grid wrapped by a div which can show the scrollbar when the list is too long.
To achieve this I added style="height:200px; overflow:auto"
to a div around the table which causes it to show as a single column.
Now works for array length of one.