Sri Lanka overcomes the Bangladeshi side to maintain their tournament hopes alive

ICC Women's World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

Sri Lanka win by seven runs margin

The Lankan cricket team took four wickets in the decisive over to achieve a nail-biting victory over Bangladesh and keep their faint chances of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals ongoing.

Needing a modest target of 203 on a good batting surface in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh required nine more runs from the last six bowls.

Nevertheless, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu took three wickets in four balls and Nilakshi de Silva ran out Nahida to achieve a thrilling success for Sri Lanka.

The victory – Sri Lanka's initial of the World Cup after three unsuccessful matches and two no-results against the Australian team and New Zealand – elevates them tied on four match points with India and the New Zealand side, who face each other on the coming Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, in contrast, suffered a fifth straight loss since winning their first match against the Pakistani team and have been eliminated.

While Bangladesh got off to the ideal beginning, with Marufa Akter striking with the first delivery of the encounter to send back Gunaratne, they were rightfully made to pay for a disappointing fielding display.

They gifted second chances to Perera, who was spilled three times, and Athapaththu.

Although the Sri Lankan skipper could not capitalise, sent back leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being dropped by Rabeya, Perera forced the opposition pay.

She achieved a first international half-century, making 85 from 99 balls and sharing an important 74-run fifth-wicket collaboration with Nilakshi de Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, guided by Shorna's three wickets for 27 runs, fought themselves back in the match, with Nilakshi's wicket in the 34th bowling segment triggering a Sri Lanka batting collapse from 174 for four to 202 complete.

While batting second, the Lankan team's initial pace attack Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani contained the opposition to 23 for one in a disappointing opening overs and they were afterwards reduced to 44 with three wickets lost.

Sharmin and Joty reconstructed their score, adding an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket collaboration before the batter withdrew due to injury for a stubborn 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was leaning toward Bangladesh entering the last two innings segments, with merely 12 additional runs necessary.

However, Dasanayaka sent back Ritu Moni and gave away only three runs before Athapaththu's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all removed as the Lankan team seized the win at the death.

Finally, it was a contest of composure. The seasoned Athapaththu, who ushered away a few of fellow players as she prepared to deliver the decisive over, maintained her composure. Bangladesh could not.

There will be plenty of questions about Bangladesh's batting performance. They possibly have been pursuing around 270-280 with Sri Lanka looking settled on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th over, but instead the required total was significantly less.

Yet, Bangladesh lacked purpose from the very beginning, accumulating runs at less than 2.5 runs each over during the initial phase, suffering a top-order collapse, and eventually making themselves excessive to accomplish.

But whatever issues there are with their batting, if they had taken their opportunities in the fielding department, that 203-run target target would have been considerably lower.

It required them three efforts to end the 72-run stand second-wicket association, with keeper Joty being unable to grab a challenging opportunity as wicketkeeper to send back Perera on 23 runs before Athapaththu got a reprieve from a caught and bowled opportunity against Rabeya Khan.

The batter was dropped again on 55 runs and her score of 63, the latter chance flying right to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover field, before finally being dismissed leg before wicket by Shorna as she sought to up the ante with batting partners being dismissed around her.

Subsequently in the innings, there was also a failed stumping and a failed run-out, even though the latter was a little unfortunate, with Rubya Haider standing in with the keeping duties after an physical problem to Joty.

Unfortunately for Bangladesh, such fielding problems are not at all a one-off. They've failed to catch 14 chances from a available 27 opportunities at this tournament and have the worst catching success rate (less than 50%) of the competing sides.

They are a team who are typically moving in the proper way – they are playing in merely their second ODI World Cup in the end – but inadequate fielding standards is a obvious concern which requires improvement.