The Lankan team overcomes Bangladesh to maintain their campaign ongoing

Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

Sri Lanka emerge victorious by seven runs

Sri Lanka claimed four crucial dismissals in the decisive over to complete a thrilling victory over their opponents and maintain their narrow hopes of making it for the tournament knockout stage ongoing.

Pursuing a below-par target of 203 on a favorable wicket in the Mumbai stadium, the Bangladeshi team wanted nine additional runs from the remaining six bowls.

However, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu secured three wickets in four deliveries and Nilakshi de Silva ran out Nahida to achieve a dramatic win for the Lankan team.

The win – Sri Lanka's first of the competition after three losses and two abandoned games against the Australian team and the Kiwi side – moves them tied on four points with India and the New Zealand side, who face each other on 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 the Bangladeshi side made the ideal beginning, with Marufa striking with the first delivery of the game to remove Vishmi Gunaratne, they were rightfully penalized for a poor fielding display.

They gifted reprieves to Hasini Perera, who was spilled three times, and the Lankan captain.

Even though Athapaththu was unable to make it count, dismissed leg before wicket for 46 one ball after being missed by Rabeya, Hasini Perera forced Bangladesh suffer.

She registered a maiden international half-century, scoring 85 from 99 balls and sharing an important 74-run stand fifth-wicket collaboration with De Silva.

Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna Akter's impressive bowling figures, fought themselves back to the contest, with De Silva's wicket in the 34th bowling segment triggering a Sri Lanka collapse from 174 for four to 202 total.

While batting second, the Lankan team's initial pace attack Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani contained Bangladesh to 23 for one in a uninspiring initial phase and they were subsequently diminished to 44 for three.

Sharmin and Joty reconstructed their score, contributing 82 runs for the fourth wicket before the batter retired hurt for a stubborn 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was advantage the chasing team heading into the remaining two innings segments, with only 12 more runs needed.

Nevertheless, Sugandika Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu and allowed merely three scoring runs before Athapaththu's dramatic spell, with Rabeya, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa Akter all dismissed as the Lankan team grabbed the victory at the final moment.

Ultimately, it was a contest of nerve. The very experienced Athapaththu, who directed away a handful of fellow players as she set herself to deliver the final over, held her composure. Bangladesh did not.

There will be plenty of doubts about the team's batting display. They possibly have been pursuing around 270-280 with Sri Lanka appearing at ease on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th innings segment, but rather the required total was significantly less.

However, Bangladesh lacked aggression from the very beginning, accumulating runs at below 2.5 runs each over during the initial phase, undergoing a top-order collapse, and ultimately making themselves overwhelming to accomplish.

But no matter what issues there are with their batting lineup, if they had taken their opportunities in the fielding department, that 203 total objective would have been significantly smaller.

It needed them three efforts to terminate the 72-run partnership second-wicket association, with keeper Nigar Sultana being unable to grab a difficult opportunity as wicketkeeper to dismiss Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu survived from a caught and bowled possibility against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was missed further on 55 and her score of 63, the last attempt traveling straight to Jhilik at cover, before eventually being dismissed lbw by Shorna Akter as she tried to accelerate the scoring with teammates getting out near her.

Afterwards in the batting effort, there was additionally a failed stumping and a missed run-out, while the second one was a somewhat unfortunate, with Rubya Haider deputising with the keeping duties following an physical problem to Joty.

Regrettably for the team, such fielding problems are not at all a isolated incident. They've missed 14 chances from a possible 27 chances at this competition and display the poorest catching success rate (less than 50%) of the competing sides.

They are a side who are overall moving in the right direction – they are participating in just their second ODI World Cup after all – but substandard fielding performance is a glaring concern which demands improvement.