The Lankan team beats the Bangladeshi side to maintain their tournament hopes ongoing

ICC Women's World Cup, Mumbai

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

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

Sri Lanka win by seven runs

Sri Lanka claimed four crucial dismissals in the final innings segment to achieve a thrilling victory over their opponents and keep their narrow hopes of making it for the tournament knockout stage ongoing.

Chasing a modest total of 203 on a favorable wicket in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh required nine runs from the remaining six deliveries.

However, Lankan skipper Athapaththu took three important dismissals in four balls and Nilakshi de Silva ran out Nahida Akter to secure a exciting win for the Lankan team.

The victory – Sri Lanka's initial of the competition after three defeats and two washed-out matches against the Australian team and the Kiwi side – pushes them equal on four tournament points with the Indian team and New Zealand, who confront each other on Thursday.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, endured a fifth successive setback since winning their initial game against Pakistan and have been knocked out.

While the Bangladeshi side got off to the ideal beginning, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the opening bowl of the match to send back Vishmi Gunaratne, they were deservedly made to pay for a disappointing fielding performance.

They gifted second chances to Perera, who was missed on three occasions, and the Lankan captain.

Although Athapaththu was unable to take advantage, dismissed leg before wicket for 46 a single bowl after being put down by Rabeya, Perera forced the opposition suffer.

She scored a debut international fifty, making 85 from 99 bowls and contributing to an important 74-run partnership fifth-wicket association with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, led by Shorna Akter's 3-27, dragged themselves back into the match, with De Silva's removal in the 34th over initiating a Sri Lanka batting collapse from 174 with four wickets down to 202 complete.

In reply, the Lankan team's starting bowlers Madara and Prabodhani limited the opposition to 23-1 in a disappointing initial phase and they were afterwards reduced to 44-3.

Sharmin and Joty rebuilt their batting effort, contributing 82 for the fourth wicket before Sharmin left the field injured for a stubborn 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was leaning toward Bangladesh heading into the last two bowling phases, with just 12 additional runs required.

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

Ultimately, it was a match of nerves. The highly experienced Lankan captain, who ushered away a handful of teammates as she prepared to bowl the last over, kept her composure. Bangladesh did not.

There will be plenty of doubts about the team's batting effort. They possibly have been pursuing 270 to 280 with the Lankan team seeming at ease on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th bowling phase, but instead the required total was much lower.

Nevertheless, Bangladesh showed little aggression from the very beginning, scoring at less than 2.5 runs each over during the initial phase, suffering a top-order collapse, and ultimately forcing themselves too much to accomplish.

But whatever difficulties there are with their batting approach, if they had accepted their catches in the fielding department, that 203-run target objective would have been significantly less.

It needed them three tries to break the 72-run partnership second-wicket collaboration, with keeper Joty not managing to hold a difficult chance while keeping to send back Hasini Perera on 23 before the captain was spared from a caught and bowled chance against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was dropped further on her score of 55 and 63, the last attempt traveling right to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover field, before finally being given out lbw by Shorna as she tried to up the ante with teammates being dismissed beside her.

Subsequently in the innings, there was additionally a stumping chance missed and a run-out opportunity lost, even though the run-out chance was a little unfortunate, with Jhilik substituting with the wicketkeeping gloves after an physical problem to the regular keeper.

Unfortunately for Bangladesh, such fielding woes are not at all a isolated incident. They've missed 14 catches from a potential 27 opportunities at this tournament and boast the lowest catch efficiency (less than 50%) of the eight teams.

They are a squad who are generally moving in the proper way – they are participating in only their second one-day World Cup ultimately – but substandard fielding standards is a glaring issue which requires focus.