Sri Lanka defeats the Bangladeshi side to keep their tournament hopes breathing

ICC Women's World Cup, Mumbai

Sri Lanka 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

Sri Lanka emerge victorious by seven runs

The Lankan cricket team took four crucial dismissals in the final innings segment to achieve a thrilling victory over their opponents and maintain their slim aspirations of making it for the World Cup semi-finals alive.

Needing a attainable score of 203 on a favorable wicket in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh needed nine runs from the remaining six deliveries.

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

The triumph – the Lankan team's first of the World Cup after three defeats and two washed-out matches against the Australian team and the Kiwi side – pushes them equal on four match points with India and New Zealand, who meet each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, in contrast, experienced a fifth successive defeat since securing victory in their first match against Pakistan and have been eliminated.

While Bangladesh made the ideal beginning, with Marufa taking a wicket with the first delivery of the game to remove Vishmi Gunaratne, they were deservedly penalized for a disappointing fielding display.

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

Although the Sri Lankan skipper could not take advantage, removed lbw for 46 a single bowl after being put down by Rabeya, Perera made the opposition suffer.

She achieved a first international 50-run score, scoring 85 from 99 balls and sharing an significant 74-run stand fifth-wicket association with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna's impressive bowling figures, pulled themselves back in the match, with Nilakshi's removal in the 34th over initiating a Sri Lanka collapse from 174 with four wickets down to 202 all out.

During their chase, the Lankan team's starting bowlers Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani limited the opposition to 23 with one wicket down in a disappointing initial phase and they were afterwards reduced to 44-3.

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

It was leaning toward the chasing team entering the last two innings segments, with only 12 runs needed.

However, Dasanayaka sent back Ritu and gave away merely three runs before Athapaththu's decisive intervention, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all dismissed as Sri Lanka snatched the triumph at the very end.

Ultimately, it was a match of nerves. The highly experienced Lankan captain, who ushered away a handful of team-mates as she prepared to bowl the decisive over, maintained her composure. The opposition could not.

There will be many questions about Bangladesh's batting effort. They possibly have been pursuing 270 or 280 with Sri Lanka seeming comfortable on 159-4 in the 30th innings segment, but in contrast the required total was significantly less.

Yet, Bangladesh displayed insufficient intent from the very beginning, scoring at less than 2.5 scoring rate during the powerplay, experiencing a initial wicket loss, and finally making themselves excessive to achieve.

But no matter what difficulties there are with their batting lineup, if they had seized their catches in the fielding area, that 203-run target objective would have been considerably less.

It took them three efforts to break the 72-run second-wicket, with wicketkeeper Joty not managing to hold a difficult chance as wicketkeeper to send back Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu survived from a return catch possibility against Rabeya.

The batter was dropped once more on 55 runs and her score of 63, the final opportunity flying straight to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before finally being dismissed leg before wicket by Shorna Akter as she attempted to increase the tempo with partners getting out near her.

Subsequently in the batting effort, there was additionally a failed stumping and a run-out opportunity lost, although the run-out chance was a slightly regrettable, with Jhilik substituting with the wicketkeeping gloves following an fitness issue to Joty.

Sadly for Bangladesh, such fielding woes are nowhere near a isolated incident. They've failed to catch 14 chances from a available 27 opportunities at this competition and have the worst catch efficiency (48.1%) of the competing sides.

They are a team who are generally moving in the right direction – they are competing in merely their second one-day World Cup in the end – but substandard fielding standards is a glaring issue which demands attention.