The Lankan team beats Bangladesh to maintain their World Cup campaign breathing

ICC Women's World Cup, Mumbai

Sri Lanka 202 (48.4 overs): Perera 85 (99); Shorna 3-27

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

The Lankan side win by seven runs margin

Sri Lanka took four crucial dismissals in the decisive over to achieve a heart-stopping win over their opponents and keep their faint chances of making it for the tournament knockout stage ongoing.

Chasing a below-par target of 203 on a good batting surface in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh needed nine additional runs from the final six deliveries.

Nevertheless, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu claimed three wickets in four deliveries and de Silva ran out Nahida Akter to secure a thrilling win for the Lankan team.

The victory – Sri Lanka's initial of the tournament after three defeats and two abandoned games against Australia and New Zealand – moves them tied on four tournament points with the Indian team and New Zealand, who meet each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, however, suffered a fifth straight loss since winning their initial game against Pakistan and have been removed from contention.

Although the Bangladeshi side got off to the excellent commencement, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the first delivery of the encounter to dismiss Vishmi Gunaratne, they were deservedly made to pay for a poor fielding performance.

They offered reprieves to Hasini Perera, who was spilled three times, and Athapaththu.

Although the Sri Lankan skipper failed to make it count, dismissed leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being put down by Rabeya Khan, Perera made the opposition pay.

She registered a debut international fifty, making 85 from 99 bowls and building an crucial 74-run fifth-wicket association with De Silva.

Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna Akter's impressive bowling figures, fought themselves back in the match, with Nilakshi's dismissal in the 34th innings segment triggering a Sri Lanka downfall from 174-4 to 202 total.

In reply, Sri Lanka's initial pace attack Madara and Prabodhani contained Bangladesh to 23 for one in a lacklustre powerplay and they were afterwards reduced to 44-3.

Sharmin Akter and Joty restored their innings, contributing 82 for the fourth wicket before Sharmin retired hurt for a stubborn 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was advantage the chasing team heading into the final two innings segments, with just 12 runs needed.

However, Sugandika Dasanayaka removed Ritu and allowed only three scoring runs before Athapaththu's chaos, with Rabeya, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa all sent back as the Lankan team grabbed the triumph at the final moment.

Ultimately, it was a game of composure. The highly experienced Athapaththu, who ushered away a handful of fellow players as she got ready to bowl the final over, held hers. The opposition did not.

There will be plenty of questions about the team's batting effort. They might well have been needing 270 to 280 with the Lankan team seeming at ease on 159 for four in the 30th bowling phase, but instead the required total was significantly less.

Yet, Bangladesh showed little intent from the very beginning, accumulating runs at under 2.5 runs each over during the initial phase, experiencing a early batting collapse, and finally making themselves excessive to accomplish.

But no matter what problems there are with their batting lineup, if they had seized their chances in the fielding department, that 203 total objective would have been substantially smaller.

It took them three efforts to break the 72-run partnership second-wicket, with wicketkeeper Joty failing to take a difficult opportunity behind the stumps to remove Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu was spared from a return catch opportunity against Rabeya Khan.

The batter was spilled once more on her score of 55 and her score of 63, the last attempt going straight to Jhilik at cover position, before ultimately being given out leg before wicket by Shorna as she attempted to increase the tempo with partners being dismissed beside her.

Afterwards in the batting effort, there was additionally a missed stumping and a failed run-out, even though the run-out chance was a little regrettable, with Rubya Haider substituting with the wicketkeeping gloves after an injury to the regular keeper.

Regrettably for Bangladesh, such fielding woes are not at all a single occurrence. They've dropped 14 catches from a possible 27 opportunities at this competition and have the worst catching success rate (48.1 percent) of the competing sides.

They are a team who are overall heading in the proper way – they are playing in merely their second 50-over World Cup ultimately – but inadequate fielding standards is a prominent issue which demands focus.