The Lankan team beats Bangladesh to maintain their tournament hopes breathing

Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai

The Lankan team 202 (48.4 overs): Hasini Perera 85 (99); Shorna Akter 3-27

The Bangladeshi team 195-9 (50 overs): Nigar Sultana Joty 77 (98); Chamari Athapaththu 4-42

The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs margin

Sri Lanka took four crucial dismissals in the last innings segment to achieve a heart-stopping victory over their opponents and preserve their narrow chances of making it for the World Cup semi-finals alive.

Pursuing a below-par score of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team required nine additional runs from the remaining six deliveries.

However, Lankan skipper Athapaththu secured three important dismissals in four deliveries and Nilakshi de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida to bring about a exciting victory for Sri Lanka.

The triumph – the Lankan team's first of the competition after three losses and two no-results against the Australian team and the Kiwi side – moves them level on four points with India and New Zealand, who confront each other on the coming Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, in contrast, endured a fifth consecutive setback since securing victory in their first match against Pakistan and have been knocked out.

Even though the Bangladeshi side got off to the ideal beginning, with Marufa Akter striking with the opening bowl of the game to send back Vishmi Gunaratne, they were rightfully made to pay for a disappointing fielding effort.

They gifted second chances to Perera, who was missed multiple times, and Athapaththu.

While the Sri Lankan skipper could not take advantage, sent back lbw for 46 just one delivery after being dropped by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera forced Bangladesh suffer.

She registered a first international 50-run score, accumulating 85 from 99 deliveries and contributing to an important 74-run fifth-wicket association with De Silva.

Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna's impressive bowling figures, fought themselves back into the game, with Nilakshi's wicket in the 34th bowling segment causing a Lankan collapse from 174-4 to 202 total.

During their chase, Sri Lanka's initial pace attack Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani contained the opposition to 23-1 in a uninspiring initial phase and they were subsequently brought down to 44 for three.

Sharmin Akter and Joty rebuilt their score, contributing 82 for the fourth wicket collaboration before the batter retired hurt for a stubborn 64 in the 36th over.

It was leaning toward Bangladesh approaching the last two bowling phases, with only 12 runs needed.

However, Sugandika Dasanayaka sent back Ritu Moni and allowed merely three runs before Athapaththu's dramatic spell, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, captain Joty and Marufa Akter all sent back as the Lankan team seized the triumph at the death.

Ultimately, it was a game of nerve. The highly experienced Lankan captain, who moved aside a several of team-mates as she set herself to deliver the last over, held her composure. Bangladesh could not.

There will be plenty of inquiries about Bangladesh's batting effort. They could easily have been pursuing 270 or 280 with Sri Lanka looking comfortable on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th over, but rather the required total was significantly less.

However, the batting side showed little purpose from the start, making runs at under 2.5 scoring rate during the initial phase, experiencing a early batting collapse, and eventually forcing themselves excessive to achieve.

But whatever difficulties there are with their batting lineup, if they had taken their catches in the fielding area, that 203-run target goal would have been substantially smaller.

It took them three attempts to end the 72-run partnership second-wicket association, with wicketkeeper Joty not managing to hold a difficult chance as wicketkeeper to send back Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu survived from a caught and bowled chance possibility against Rabeya.

Perera was spilled once more on 55 runs and 63, the last attempt going right to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before ultimately being given out lbw by Shorna as she attempted to accelerate the scoring with partners falling around her.

Afterwards in the batting effort, there was furthermore a missed stumping and a run-out opportunity lost, although the second one was a little unfortunate, with Jhilik substituting with the gloves following an physical problem to Joty.

Regrettably for the team, such fielding issues are far from a single occurrence. They've missed 14 chances from a available 27 chances at this World Cup and display the lowest catch efficiency (48.1 percent) of the competing sides.

They are a side who are generally heading in the right direction – they are playing in merely their second 50-over World Cup after all – but poor fielding standards is a prominent problem which demands improvement.