BSL Nights Season 2 - Week 8 Recap

Lahore vs Medina

 

Both teams came into this game thirsty for a win. Lahore was missing GM Aftab Sheikh but captain Mo “Kala Jadoo” was present and was extremely stressed out. He was heard telling his team that if they don’t start taking things seriously, they were going on the trading block. Perhaps that was a way to get his team fired up or maybe he was serious. Regardless, both teams came to play and put on a show. Medina started off by putting up 3 runs in the opening inning then Lahore responded by mercying Medina showing them “this aint no walk in the park, we came to play!”.  Medina then responded with another 6 runs. Both teams were hitting well, finding the gaps. Every time Medina thought they had an advantage, Lahore would respond with a strong inning keeping this game as close as possible. Going into the top of the 7th, Medina was down by 2 with the bottom of their lineup coming up. With 2 outs and the tying run at 1st base, Zahid Merchant smashed one into RF which looked like it was gona sail over Amir “I’m too cool to wear my jersey” Khalil who reached up and made the game ending catch and with it, ending Lahore’s dry spell. Congratulations to Lahore for getting on the board. They played a fantastic game and were able to close this game out the way they should’ve been doing all season long. Lahore’s got some life and if they can go on a run, teams fighting for a playoff spot will be in trouble. 6 teams, 5 playoff spots, everyone’s got the same goal. Sit tight, this playoff race just got interesting.

 

 Summary of main stats:

Lahore

Khizer Channa – 4 / 4, 3 RBI’s

Shamil Khadaroo – 3 / 4, 2B, 2 RBI’s

Amir Khalil – 3 / 4, 2 2B, 2 RBI’s

 Medina

W K – 4 / 4, HR, 2B, 5 RBI’s

Hammad Afif – 4 / 4, HR, 3 RBI’s

Ismail Akhtar – 2 / 3, HR, 2 RBI’s

Zahid Merchant – 3 / 5, 2 2B

 

 

Istanbul vs Medina

After a frustrating loss to Lahore, Medina was frustrated but kept their composure thanks to the leadership of guys like Zahid Merchant and… I think just Zahid. Istanbul was ready to pounce on the wounded Medina and came into this game ready to play. Medina batted first and got off to a great start Mercying Istanbul. After 2 innings Medina was enjoying a 10 point lead when Istanbul’s bats finally woke up and started spraying the field bringing in a mercy inning of their own. Medina was getting a bit frustrated but the veteran players took the lead and made the right plays ensuring there was always a decent lead. Atif had a great day at the plate as one of his highlights was striking out a post vacation Zain “I thought that pitch was illegal” Malik catching a nap at the plate. We caught up to him for a comment later on. He said that he was afraid of hitting the ball, because his older brother would catch it anyway.  Truer words have never been spoken. Going into the top of the 7th, Medina rallied after being down to 2 outs brining in 6 runs in that inning courtesy of big hits from Hamid Malik and Zahid Merchant both hitting doubles in the final frame. With a 10 point cushion there was no way Medina was gona give up this game… so they thought. Istanbul continued to chip away in this open inning thanks to some nice hits from Zayd Ramjaun, Zain Malik and Abdullah Akhtar. Medina did all they could to contain their attack as Istanbul continued to push. At the end of the day a 10 point deficit in the final frame proved to be too large a lead as Medina closed out this game. Like last year, Medina was projected to be one of the best teams but had a very mediocre regular season. They did however turn it up in the playoffs and ended up bringing home the grand prize. This year has started off slow for them but it goes without saying that these guys are a powerhouse and when they start rolling, they will be very hard to stop. Istanbul on the other hand also has some impressive talent and probably has the best power bats in the league. Can they continue to play well behind the leadership of Zain Malik and Riyad Ramjaun? We’ll find out as they take on the Cordoba next.

 Summary of main stats:

Medina

Zahid Merchant – 4 / 5, 4 2B, 3 RBI’s

Hamid Malik – 3 / 5, 2B, 3 RBI’s

Hammad Afif – 3 / 5, HR, 3 RBI’s

 Istanbul

Umer Jabbar – 3 / 3, HR, 2 RBI’s

Rameez Siddiqi – 3 / 4, HR, 3 RBI’s

Abdullah Akhtar – 2 / 3, HR, 2 RBI’s

 

Istanbul vs Cordoba

 

Istanbul coming fresh off a loss to Medina were hoping to get their bats flowing early as Cordoba has no issues scoring in bunches. Once you fall behind to these guys, its tough to make your way back. Speaking of which, Cordoba decided to blow this game wide open in the first 2 innings, to a score of 13 – 1. 3rd inning Istanbul started to pick it up scoring 5 runs, rallying after 2 outs. Unfortunately, Cordoba also scored 5 runs that inning. Istanbul came out and scored 6 more but Cordoba 1 uped them and mercied them. it didn’t matter what Istanbul did, Cordoba did it better and louder. At one point fans were out here chirping Ahmed Butt hoping to get in his head but he wasn’t having any of that as he very calmly smashed the ball ran to 1st while waving to his adoring fans.  Yusauf Chaudhry has been on a tear as went 4 / 4 at bat with 2 homers and 8 RBI’s. talk about leading your team by example. There isn’t much more to report in this game as no runs were scored by either team after the 4th inning. This one was still a blowout as Cordoba took care of business, doubling up on Istanbul sending em to the locker room with much to ponder about. Istanbul had a rough day as they dropped both of their games but that doesn’t mean they’re down and out yet. They’ll have to pick up the pace if they want a chance at making the playoffs as Lahore is hot on their tail after that win against Medina. As for Cordoba, they can put their feet up and cruise to the playoffs if they wanted to. They have yet to lose a game and have a massive lead in the standings. Can they continue their dominance as we inch closer to the post season?

 Summary of main stats:

Cordoba

Yusauf Chaudhry – 4 / 4, 2 HR, 8 RBI’s

Bilal Javed – 3 / 3, HR, 4 RBI’s

Zaid Ghansar – 4 / 4, 2B, 3 RBI’s

 Istanbul

Tamour Sheikh – 2 / 4, 2 2B, 3 RBI’s

Abduallah Akhtar – 2 / 3, 2 2B, 2 RBI’s

Rameez Siddiqi – 2 / 3, 2 2B, 2 RBI’s