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

Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs

Sri Lanka took four crucial dismissals in the decisive over to achieve a thrilling victory over their opponents and preserve their narrow chances of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals alive.

Chasing a modest score of 203 on a good batting surface in the Mumbai stadium, the Bangladeshi team wanted nine additional runs from the final six deliveries.

Nevertheless, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu secured three wickets in four bowls and Nilakshi de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida to achieve a exciting win for Sri Lanka.

The win – the Lankan team's initial of the competition after three defeats and two abandoned games against Australia and New Zealand – moves them equal on four tournament points with India and New Zealand, who meet each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, in contrast, experienced a fifth straight loss since securing victory in their initial game against Pakistan and have been eliminated.

Although Bangladesh made the ideal beginning, with Marufa striking with the first delivery of the encounter to remove Gunaratne, they were rightfully penalized for a poor fielding performance.

They provided reprieves to Perera, who was missed on three occasions, and Athapaththu.

Although Athapaththu could not take advantage, dismissed lbw for 46 just one delivery after being put down by Rabeya Khan, Perera forced Bangladesh suffer.

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

The Bangladeshi team, guided by Shorna Akter's 3-27, pulled themselves back in the match, with Nilakshi's removal in the 34th innings segment triggering a Lankan collapse from 174 for four to 202 all out.

While batting second, Sri Lanka's opening bowlers Madara and Prabodhani contained the opposition to 23 for one in a disappointing initial phase and they were later brought down to 44 with three wickets lost.

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

It was advantage Bangladesh heading into the remaining two bowling phases, with merely 12 runs necessary.

Yet, Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu Moni and conceded just three scoring runs before Athapaththu's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa all dismissed as Sri Lanka seized the victory at the very end.

Finally, it was a match of composure. The seasoned Lankan captain, who moved aside a handful of fellow players as she got ready to bowl the final over, maintained hers. The opposition did not.

There will be numerous inquiries about the team's batting display. They possibly have been pursuing 270 to 280 with the Lankan team looking at ease on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th innings segment, but instead the required total was significantly less.

Yet, Bangladesh displayed insufficient aggression from ball one, scoring at under 2.5 runs per over during the opening overs, experiencing a top-order collapse, and eventually making themselves overwhelming to do.

But no matter what problems there are with their batting lineup, if they had accepted their opportunities in the field, that 203-run objective would have been considerably smaller.

It took them three attempts to terminate the 72-run partnership second-wicket, with keeper Joty being unable to hold a tough opportunity behind the stumps to send back Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before the captain survived from a return catch possibility against Rabeya Khan.

The batter was spilled further on 55 and 63, the latter chance traveling directly to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before finally being trapped lbw by Shorna Akter as she sought to accelerate the scoring with teammates being dismissed around her.

Afterwards in the batting effort, there was furthermore a failed stumping and a run-out opportunity lost, even though the latter was a little regrettable, with Rubya Haider standing in with the gloves after an fitness issue to Joty.

Sadly for Bangladesh, such fielding issues are nowhere near a single occurrence. They've missed 14 chances from a possible 27 opportunities at this competition and boast the lowest catching success rate (less than 50%) of the competing sides.

They are a squad who are generally moving in the proper way – they are playing in merely their second 50-over World Cup ultimately – but poor fielding is a glaring concern which demands focus.