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 .!!!


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