Kings XI 'riding a wave' of sporting industry's biggest cliche: Momentum

Every industry and sector has its own unique language. Ask a management consultant “to take a stab at it” and they’ll know what you mean — just like every dance instructor knows you’ll get better only if you practice the routine “from the top”. These clichés do not really facilitate conversation but life would be so bland without them [ask an investment banker who is in office post midnight “doing a (financial) model”]. And sports as an industry with cricket as the game in question, is no different. If ten random people are asked to make a list of the top five cricket clichés I am sure the word “momentum” would find its way in at least 90% of these lists. It is one of the most frequently used (or abused) words in T20 cricket to provide an explanation for everything right from a string of losses or wins to the rationale behind player rotation. We’ve all used it and we continue to do so but very few of us really understand the concept of “momentum (or the lack of it) in sports.” And I am no exception. Though this time Kings XI Punjab ensured that my curiosity levels were slightly higher than they have previously been. With seven wins from eight games all experts are unanimous in their claims that the boys from Punjab are “riding a wave”. In the IPL when there is so little to choose between teams, apparently its ‘momentum’ that makes all the difference. Or does it? [caption id=“attachment_1518035” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Glenn Maxwell also has momentum on his side. BCCI[/caption] To understand this phenomenon I decided to begin by understanding the word momentum. My younger brother who is an engineer (surprise surprise) provided me with a simple definition of the word momentum: “the impetus gained by a moving object because of its mass and velocity.” It is a pretty powerful concept considering that a small snowball can gain momentum and cause an avalanche! But does the same analogy hold true in the sporting world? Can a team of minnows through consecutive wins gain momentum that results in a series of upsets — and if the teams remains unstoppable, then an eventual championship? Was this why Rajasthan Royals won IPL 1? And of course the converse is also true – negative momentum. Wasn’t this the explanation that was provided for Delhi Daredevils’ poor run in IPL 6? The fact that momentum is a serious concept in sports is no debating matter, after all you’ll find an elaborate definition for it in the Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science and Medicine: “psychological momentum is the positive or negative change in cognition, affect, physiology, and behavior caused by an event or series of events that affects either the perceptions of the competitors or, perhaps, the quality of performance and the outcome of the competition." Positive momentum is associated with periods of competition, such as a winning streak, in which everything seems to ‘go right’ for the competitors. In contrast, negative momentum is associated with periods, such as a losing streak, when everything seems to ‘go wrong’. But this still does not answer the why. Why must there be a winning or losing streak. My friend who is a psychologist decoded this for me. The reason why momentum is powerful is because it helps us create a certain self image. Putting it another way positive momentum can improve an athlete’s self efficiency by enhancing his/her confidence. Every one of us looks for those external signs/omens to nudge us in a certain direction. It is the same with professional athletes - a little external boost to confidence never hurts (this also helps us understand why professional athletes are some of the most superstitious folks). And that is why “momentum” becomes so powerful — it provides confidence which makes one feel “in control” and thereby peak in performance. At an intuitive level this does make sense — after all perfect practice does make perfect and we all do get better through consistent hard work and confidence. However, anyone with a rational bent of mind will find this theory hard to digest. There is no real formula that can help us make predictions on the momentum pattern or there is no such tipping point which states that after you cross a certain number you achieve momentum. And more importantly how long does this momentum last? Similarly most of these momentum explanations are given in retrospect. Very few experts would bet their money on a team winning because of momentum. The answers to these questions can only be unraveled through extensive research into the data generated in the IPL games to figure out if there is really a pattern. Maybe one day I’ll get the willpower to undertake this task, gain momentum and finish it. Till then it is safe to assume that there is a lot of truth in those words from Star Wars: “may the force be with you” — it can, after all, make the difference between a win and a loss.