Delivery story: Avoid taking the game till the last ball!

During 2019 WC semi final of India vs New Zealand hashtag#cricketmatch, India were struggling at 94 runs for 6 wickets in 31 overs while chasing a target of 240 runs. 

However, hashtag#Jadeja and hashtag#Dhoni's partnership helped India recover and add 109 runs in the next 96 balls, taking the score to 203 runs for 6 wicket at the end of 46th over. Is that good? 

No.

The issue was that then Dhoni had scored 38 runs in 65 balls while Jadeja had 76 runs in 57 balls. Dhoni had come to bat in the 23rd over and as early as 35th over, he should have started accelerating. However, he took the game till the 47th over, which he was famous for in his career. 

This meant that in the last 18 balls, India had to make 37 runs against New Zealand, which a stupendous bowling team. Due to the pressure, Jadeja lost his wicket in the 48th over and Dhoni lost in 49th over. 

And the result was that India lost a crucial match (incidentally, it was Dhoni's last ODI match before retirement). 

Based on the above example, it is advisable to avoid waiting until the last day to deliver a project. Instead, it is better to continue working on it to avoid pressure and the buildup of targets at the end.