Sri Lanka defeats Bangladesh to preserve their tournament hopes alive

Women's Cricket World Cup, 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); Athapaththu 4-42

Sri Lanka emerge victorious by seven runs

The Lankan cricket team claimed four crucial dismissals in the last innings segment to complete a nail-biting win over Bangladesh and preserve their narrow aspirations of qualifying for the tournament knockout stage alive.

Needing a below-par target of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team needed nine additional runs from the last six bowls.

Yet, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu claimed three wickets in four deliveries and de Silva ran out Nahida Akter to bring about a dramatic win for the Lankan team.

The win – Sri Lanka's maiden of the tournament after three losses and two washed-out matches against the Australian team and the Kiwi side – elevates them equal on four tournament points with India and the New Zealand side, who confront each other on Thursday.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, endured a fifth successive setback since winning their first match against the Pakistani team and have been removed from contention.

Although Bangladesh got off to the perfect start, with Marufa striking with the first delivery of the encounter to dismiss Vishmi Gunaratne, they were rightfully made to pay for a subpar fielding performance.

They gifted lifelines to Hasini Perera, who was missed three times, and Athapaththu.

Although Athapaththu was unable to take advantage, removed leg before wicket for 46 a single bowl after being missed by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera forced the opposition suffer.

She registered a first international 50-run score, accumulating 85 from 99 deliveries and contributing to an important 74-run partnership fifth-wicket association with De Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, led by Shorna's 3-27, dragged themselves back in the match, with De Silva's wicket in the 34th innings segment causing a Sri Lanka downfall from 174 for four to 202 total.

In reply, Sri Lanka's initial pace attack Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani limited the opposition to 23 with one wicket down in a disappointing powerplay and they were later brought down to 44 with three wickets lost.

Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty restored their score, putting on an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket stand before the batter left the field injured for a resolute 64 in the 36th over.

It was advantage Bangladesh heading into the remaining two innings segments, with just 12 more runs required.

However, Dasanayaka sent back Ritu Moni and gave away merely three scoring runs before Athapaththu's chaos, with Rabeya, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all removed as Sri Lanka snatched the triumph at the final moment.

In the end, it was a match of nerves. The seasoned Lankan captain, who moved aside a several of fellow players as she prepared to bowl the final over, kept hers. The opposition did not.

There will be plenty of questions about the team's batting effort. They might well have been chasing around 270-280 with Sri Lanka seeming settled on 159-4 in the 30th bowling phase, but in contrast the target was considerably smaller.

Yet, Bangladesh lacked aggression from ball one, scoring at below 2.5 scoring rate during the initial phase, undergoing a top-order collapse, and eventually leaving themselves excessive to achieve.

But no matter what issues there are with their batting approach, if they had seized their opportunities in the fielding department, that 203-run target goal would have been significantly less.

It took them three efforts to end the 72-run stand second-wicket, with keeper Joty being unable to take a difficult chance while keeping to dismiss Perera on her score of 23 before the captain got a reprieve from a return catch possibility against Rabeya Khan.

The batter was missed further on her score of 55 and 63, the last attempt flying right to Jhilik at cover, before ultimately being trapped lbw by Shorna Akter as she tried to increase the tempo with batting partners being dismissed near her.

Later in the batting effort, there was additionally a failed stumping and a failed run-out, while the run-out chance was a slightly unlucky, with Jhilik standing in with the wicketkeeping gloves after an injury to Joty.

Regrettably for Bangladesh, such fielding issues are far from a one-off. They've failed to catch 14 opportunities from a potential 27 at this competition and have the lowest fielding effectiveness (48.1%) of the eight teams.

They are a squad who are typically moving in the proper way – they are participating in just their second 50-over World Cup ultimately – but substandard fielding performance is a obvious problem which demands focus.