The India -South Africa one day cricket match played on last Sunday at Jaipur was a thriller with India scraping through with a one run victory . What looked like a cake walk for India became a touch and go affair thanks to a great partnership from the South African tail end helped by some expensive bowling by Indian pacers . Our bowlers faltered under tension and instead of containing the batsmen who were well set , tried some aggressive pace bowling to get them out . One could see the anger in Captain Dhoni ‘s face as the margin kept shrinking .
Before the advent of the limited over match , the last over was seldom noticeable except a few times – the most notable one being the famous Brisbane Tie in the sixties . There were a few such occasions thereafter when a decision hinged on the last over or last ball bowled . The one day format and thereafter the 20 over matches changed all this.
The great tension with both the batsmen and the bowlers especially when they play to a full house like in India is considerable . One can only pity a bowler who is asked to do this honor . But , it is generally seen that the captain picks up his most trusted bowler for this task and not necessarily his best bowler .
The choice of the bowler who bowls the last over is a lesson for life . In life , we always go to the most trustworthy for help when we are facing a crisis . Competency or Excellence or Star performance takes a back seat and Consistency and mental balance takes precedence . A Cricket Captain knows who can deliver and a CEO should also know who is his Rainmaker .!!!