Sri Lanka overcomes the Bangladeshi side to preserve their campaign alive

ICC Women's World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

Bangladesh 195-9 (50 overs): Nigar Sultana Joty 77 (98); Athapaththu 4-42

The Lankan side win by seven runs margin

The Lankan cricket team claimed four wickets in the last innings segment to complete a heart-stopping victory over Bangladesh and maintain their slim hopes of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals alive.

Needing a below-par score of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in the Mumbai stadium, the Bangladeshi team wanted nine additional runs from the final six bowls.

However, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu secured three important dismissals in four balls and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to secure a exciting victory for the Lankan team.

The victory – the Lankan team's first of the competition after three unsuccessful matches and two abandoned games against Australia and the Kiwi side – elevates them level on four tournament points with India and New Zealand, who meet each other on Thursday.

Bangladesh, in contrast, suffered a fifth successive defeat since winning their first match against the Pakistani team and have been eliminated.

While the Bangladeshi side got off to the ideal beginning, with Marufa taking a wicket with the initial ball of the encounter to dismiss Gunaratne, they were deservedly penalized for a disappointing fielding performance.

They offered lifelines to Hasini Perera, who was spilled on three occasions, and Athapaththu.

Even though Athapaththu was unable to make it count, sent back leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being dropped by Rabeya Khan, Perera made Bangladesh regret it.

She scored a debut international 50-run score, scoring 85 from 99 deliveries and sharing an important 74-run partnership fifth-wicket collaboration with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna's impressive bowling figures, fought themselves back into the game, with Nilakshi's wicket in the 34th innings segment triggering a Sri Lanka collapse from 174 for four to 202 total.

During their chase, the Lankan team's starting bowlers Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani restricted the opposition to 23 for one in a uninspiring initial phase and they were afterwards diminished to 44 for three.

Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty restored their innings, contributing 82 for the fourth wicket stand before Sharmin left the field injured for a determined 64 in the 36th over.

It was leaning toward Bangladesh approaching the last two innings segments, with just 12 runs necessary.

Yet, Dasanayaka removed Ritu and gave away only three scoring runs before the captain's chaos, with Rabeya, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa all sent back as Sri Lanka grabbed the triumph at the death.

Finally, it was a match of nerve. The highly experienced Athapaththu, who moved aside a few of teammates as she prepared to bowl the decisive over, held her composure. Bangladesh could not.

There will be plenty of questions about the team's batting performance. They might well have been pursuing 270 or 280 with the Lankan team appearing settled on 159 for four in the 30th over, but in contrast the required total was much lower.

However, the batting side displayed insufficient aggression from the very beginning, accumulating runs at under 2.5 scoring rate during the powerplay, suffering a initial wicket loss, and finally forcing themselves overwhelming to achieve.

But whatever issues there are with their batting lineup, if they had seized their chances in the field, that 203-run objective would have been substantially lower.

It required them three attempts to end the 72-run stand second-wicket, with wicketkeeper Joty being unable to grab a difficult chance while keeping to send back Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before the captain was spared from a caught and bowled chance against Rabeya.

The batter was missed again on 55 and 63, the last attempt going right to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover field, before eventually being given out leg before wicket by Shorna as she sought to up the ante with batting partners getting out beside her.

Subsequently in the batting effort, there was additionally a stumping chance missed and a missed run-out, although the second one was a somewhat regrettable, with Rubya Haider substituting with the gloves after an injury to Joty.

Unfortunately for Bangladesh, such fielding issues are far from a single occurrence. They've missed 14 chances from a potential 27 opportunities at this competition and boast the worst catch efficiency (less than 50%) of the competing sides.

They are a team who are generally heading in the correct path – they are competing in just their second 50-over World Cup after all – but substandard fielding is a prominent concern which requires attention.