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

Women's Cricket World Cup, Mumbai

The Lankan team 202 (48.4 overs): 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

The Lankan cricket team secured four crucial dismissals in the last over to complete a thrilling win over Bangladesh and keep their narrow chances of making it for the tournament knockout stage ongoing.

Chasing a modest target of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team needed nine runs from the last six balls.

However, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu secured three wickets in four deliveries and Nilakshi de Silva ran out Nahida to secure a thrilling win for Sri Lanka.

The victory – the Lankan team's first of the competition after three losses and two no-results against Australia and New Zealand – pushes them tied on four points with India and New Zealand, who meet each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, suffered a fifth straight setback since winning their first match against the Pakistani team and have been eliminated.

Even though Bangladesh made the perfect start, with Marufa Akter striking with the initial ball of the match to dismiss Gunaratne, they were deservedly made to pay for a subpar fielding performance.

They provided second chances to Hasini Perera, who was dropped multiple times, and the Lankan captain.

Although the Sri Lankan skipper could not take advantage, dismissed lbw for 46 just one delivery after being missed by Rabeya, Hasini Perera made Bangladesh suffer.

She scored a debut international half-century, accumulating 85 from 99 balls and building an crucial 74-run fifth-wicket with De Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, guided by Shorna's impressive bowling figures, pulled themselves back into the match, with Nilakshi's dismissal in the 34th innings segment triggering a Lankan batting collapse from 174 for four to 202 all out.

During their chase, Sri Lanka's opening bowlers Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani contained the opposition to 23-1 in a disappointing powerplay and they were afterwards reduced to 44 for three.

Sharmin Akter and Nigar Sultana Joty restored their score, adding an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket stand before the batter withdrew due to injury for a determined 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was in favor of Bangladesh entering the final two innings segments, with merely 12 more runs needed.

Yet, Sugandika Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu Moni and gave away just three scoring runs before Athapaththu's decisive intervention, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa all removed as the Lankan team snatched the victory at the final moment.

In the end, it was a match of nerve. The highly experienced Athapaththu, who ushered away a few of fellow players as she got ready to deliver the decisive over, held her composure. Bangladesh did not.

There will be plenty of doubts about Bangladesh's batting effort. They might well have been pursuing 270 or 280 with Sri Lanka looking at ease on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th innings segment, but in contrast the chase was much lower.

Yet, the batting side displayed insufficient intent from the start, scoring at below 2.5 scoring rate during the opening overs, experiencing a early batting collapse, and finally forcing themselves overwhelming to achieve.

But no matter what issues there are with their batting lineup, if they had seized their opportunities in the field, that 203 total target would have been substantially lower.

It required them three attempts to break the 72-run partnership second-wicket collaboration, with keeper Nigar Sultana failing to grab a tough chance while keeping to remove Perera on her score of 23 before the captain got a reprieve from a return catch opportunity against Rabeya Khan.

The batter was missed again on 55 and her score of 63, the last attempt traveling straight to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover field, before eventually being trapped lbw by Shorna Akter as she tried to accelerate the scoring with partners falling around her.

Afterwards in the batting effort, there was additionally a failed stumping and a failed run-out, although the second one was a somewhat unlucky, with Rubya Haider substituting with the gloves after an injury to the regular keeper.

Unfortunately for the team, such fielding issues are nowhere near a single occurrence. They've dropped 14 chances from a potential 27 at this competition and have the worst fielding effectiveness (48.1 percent) of the eight teams.

They are a side who are generally progressing in the correct path – they are competing in merely their second one-day World Cup ultimately – but substandard fielding performance is a obvious issue which needs attention.