Sri Lanka overcomes Bangladesh to keep their World Cup tournament hopes alive

Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs

The Lankan cricket team secured four wickets in the final innings segment to achieve a thrilling victory over Bangladesh and preserve their slim chances of making it for the tournament knockout stage ongoing.

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

Nevertheless, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu claimed three important dismissals in four balls and Nilakshi de Silva ran out Nahida to achieve a thrilling victory for the Lankan team.

The triumph – Sri Lanka's maiden of the World Cup after three unsuccessful matches and two no-results against Australia and New Zealand – pushes them equal on four points with India and the New Zealand side, who meet each other on Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, however, experienced a fifth successive setback since winning their first match against Pakistan and have been knocked out.

While Bangladesh got off to the excellent commencement, with Marufa striking with the initial ball of the game to remove Gunaratne, they were appropriately punished for a disappointing fielding display.

They offered lifelines to Hasini Perera, who was spilled multiple times, and the Lankan captain.

While Athapaththu could not take advantage, sent back lbw for 46 just one delivery after being dropped by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera forced the opposition pay.

She scored a maiden international 50-run score, accumulating 85 from 99 balls and building an significant 74-run partnership fifth-wicket association with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna's 3-27, dragged themselves back in the contest, with De Silva's dismissal in the 34th bowling segment triggering a Sri Lanka downfall from 174 with four wickets down to 202 total.

While batting second, the Lankan team's opening bowlers Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani contained Bangladesh to 23 for one in a uninspiring powerplay and they were subsequently reduced to 44 for three.

Sharmin Akter and Nigar Sultana Joty restored their innings, contributing an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket stand before Sharmin left the field injured for a stubborn 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was advantage the chasing team entering the remaining two overs, with merely 12 more runs required.

However, Sugandika Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu and conceded only three scoring runs before Athapaththu's chaos, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all sent back as the Lankan team snatched the win at the very end.

Ultimately, it was a game of nerve. The seasoned Lankan captain, who moved aside a few of team-mates as she prepared to deliver the last over, held her nerve. Bangladesh could not.

There will be numerous questions about Bangladesh's batting display. They could easily have been needing around 270-280 with Sri Lanka looking settled on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th bowling phase, but in contrast the chase was considerably smaller.

Nevertheless, Bangladesh lacked purpose from the very beginning, making runs at under 2.5 runs per over during the initial phase, undergoing a initial wicket loss, and ultimately forcing themselves overwhelming to accomplish.

But no matter what issues there are with their batting, if they had taken their opportunities in the fielding area, that 203-run objective would have been considerably lower.

It required them three efforts to terminate the 72-run second-wicket association, with keeper Joty failing to hold a difficult catch behind the stumps to dismiss Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu got a reprieve from a return catch opportunity against Rabeya.

The batter was spilled further on 55 and 63 runs, the last attempt traveling straight to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover position, before finally being given out lbw by Shorna Akter as she sought to increase the tempo with teammates getting out near her.

Later in the batting effort, there was also a stumping chance missed and a failed run-out, although the latter was a somewhat regrettable, with Jhilik substituting with the wicketkeeping gloves due to an fitness issue to the regular keeper.

Sadly for the team, such fielding issues are not at all a isolated incident. They've missed 14 chances from a potential 27 chances at this competition and boast the lowest fielding effectiveness (48.1 percent) of the competing sides.

They are a squad who are typically heading in the proper way – they are competing in just their second ODI World Cup in the end – but inadequate fielding performance is a obvious problem which demands focus.