Aminul Islam and Akram Khan duo had to content with the runner-up Trophy in the USA Double-Wicket Tournament. The Shahid Afridi and Wasim Akram pair had defeated them by a fair margin of 23 runs in the final held in New Jersey. The two former captains of Bangladesh had fought well throughout the tournament. They toppled imminent cricketing pairs from Sri Lanka, India and West Indies to reach the final.

In the semi-final, they triumphed over the West Indian Jimmy Adams-Phil Simmons pair by 8 runs to face Pakistan in the final. The Pakistani duo outplayed the Indians in the other semi-final easily.

At first the final seemed to be a match of swinging fortune. The celebrated Pakistani pair made a shaky start when Shahid Afridi lost his wicket thrice in the very first over of Aminul Islam. Akram Khan kept the pressure in the second over by adding two wickets more. So, after the second over the Pakistanis were struggling with minus eight on the board. But these renowned big-hitters showed their real faces in the following overs. They started to make marks with their bats by bashing their opponents to the fences repeatedly. After eight overs the duo put up 81.

Aminul Islam and Akram Khan made a flying start when they gathered 25 runs in the first two overs; an exactly opposite scenario to Pakistan's opening. Soon they began to loose quick wickets that hampered the continuation. The next two overs offered only 14 runs. They needed 45 from the last four overs to clench the Trophy. But the pair decided to play cautiously and managed 58 runs after the stipulated eight overs.

The champion Pakistanis got twenty-five thousand US Dollars as prize money and the Bangladeshis received twelve thousand.

© CricInfo