Sri Lanka beats the Bangladeshi side to keep their World Cup campaign alive

ICC Women's World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

Sri Lanka win by seven runs margin

Sri Lanka took four wickets in the last over to complete a heart-stopping win over their opponents and preserve their faint hopes of making it for the tournament knockout stage ongoing.

Pursuing a modest score of 203 on a good batting surface in the Mumbai stadium, the Bangladeshi team needed nine additional runs from the remaining six deliveries.

Nevertheless, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu took three important dismissals in four balls and Nilakshi de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to achieve a exciting win for the Lankan team.

The victory – Sri Lanka's initial of the tournament after three losses and two no-results against Australia and the Kiwi side – pushes them tied on four points with India and New Zealand, who meet each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, however, experienced a fifth consecutive loss since winning their initial game against the Pakistani team and have been removed from contention.

Even though Bangladesh made the ideal beginning, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the initial ball of the encounter to send back Gunaratne, they were appropriately penalized for a disappointing fielding performance.

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

While the Sri Lankan skipper failed to take advantage, removed lbw for 46 just one delivery after being dropped by Rabeya, Perera made Bangladesh suffer.

She scored a first international half-century, making 85 from 99 deliveries and building an crucial 74-run fifth-wicket collaboration with De Silva.

Bangladesh, led by Shorna's 3-27, dragged themselves back in the game, with De Silva's dismissal in the 34th innings segment causing a Lankan downfall from 174-4 to 202 all out.

In reply, the Lankan team's starting bowlers Malki Madara and Prabodhani limited the opposition to 23-1 in a lacklustre opening overs and they were subsequently diminished to 44 for three.

Sharmin Akter and Nigar Sultana Joty restored their score, adding 82 runs for the fourth wicket before Sharmin left the field injured for a resolute 64 in the 36th over.

It was in favor of the chasing team heading into the last two bowling phases, with only 12 additional runs necessary.

However, Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu and allowed only three runs before the captain's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa all dismissed as Sri Lanka grabbed the victory at the very end.

Ultimately, it was a contest of nerve. The seasoned Lankan captain, who directed away a handful of fellow players as she prepared to bowl the final over, maintained her composure. The opposition did not.

There will be plenty of questions about the team's batting display. They possibly have been chasing 270 or 280 with the Lankan team looking at ease on 159 for four in the 30th bowling phase, but in contrast the chase was considerably smaller.

Yet, the batting side displayed insufficient intent from the start, accumulating runs at under 2.5 runs per over during the initial phase, undergoing a early batting collapse, and eventually forcing themselves excessive to accomplish.

But no matter what problems there are with their batting, if they had accepted their chances in the fielding department, that 203 total goal would have been substantially lower.

It needed them three tries to break the 72-run partnership second-wicket association, with wicketkeeper Joty failing to hold a tough catch behind the stumps to send back Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu got a reprieve from a return catch chance against Rabeya.

The batter was missed once more on her score of 55 and her score of 63, the last attempt traveling directly to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before eventually being dismissed leg before wicket by Shorna as she tried to accelerate the scoring with teammates getting out beside her.

Afterwards in the game, there was furthermore a stumping chance missed and a failed run-out, even though the run-out chance was a little regrettable, with Rubya Haider deputising with the wicketkeeping gloves following an injury to the regular keeper.

Regrettably for Bangladesh, such fielding woes are not at all a one-off. They've missed 14 chances from a available 27 chances at this tournament and boast the worst catching success rate (less than 50%) of the eight teams.

They are a side who are overall progressing in the correct path – they are participating in only their second ODI World Cup in the end – but inadequate fielding standards is a glaring problem which requires focus.