Sri Lanka beats the Bangladeshi side to preserve their tournament hopes alive

Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs margin

Sri Lanka secured four crucial dismissals in the last over to seal a nail-biting victory over Bangladesh and keep their faint chances of making it for the tournament knockout stage intact.

Needing a attainable target of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in the Mumbai stadium, the Bangladeshi team needed nine runs from the last six deliveries.

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

The triumph – Sri Lanka's first of the competition after three unsuccessful matches and two washed-out matches against the Australian team and New Zealand – elevates them equal on four match points with India and New Zealand, who face each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, in contrast, suffered a fifth successive setback since winning their first match against the Pakistani team and have been knocked out.

Although Bangladesh made the ideal beginning, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the opening bowl of the encounter to send back Gunaratne, they were deservedly penalized for a poor fielding display.

They gifted reprieves to Hasini Perera, who was dropped three times, and Athapaththu.

While Athapaththu was unable to take advantage, sent back leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being missed by Rabeya Khan, Perera forced Bangladesh pay.

She achieved a maiden international fifty, accumulating 85 from 99 balls and contributing to an significant 74-run stand fifth-wicket with De Silva.

Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna's three wickets for 27 runs, pulled themselves back to the contest, with De Silva's removal in the 34th innings segment initiating a Sri Lanka batting collapse from 174 with four wickets down to 202 complete.

While batting second, the Lankan team's opening bowlers Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani restricted Bangladesh to 23 with one wicket down in a disappointing powerplay and they were afterwards diminished to 44 for three.

Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty restored their batting effort, adding 82 for the fourth wicket before the batter retired hurt for a resolute 64 in the 36th over.

It was leaning toward Bangladesh approaching the final two bowling phases, with merely 12 more runs needed.

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

In the end, it was a contest of composure. The very experienced Lankan captain, who moved aside a several of fellow players as she set herself to bowl the final over, held hers. The opposition failed to.

There will be many questions about the team's batting effort. They possibly have been chasing around 270-280 with the Lankan team seeming comfortable on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th innings segment, but in contrast the required total was much lower.

However, Bangladesh displayed insufficient intent from ball one, accumulating runs at less than 2.5 runs each over during the opening overs, experiencing a initial wicket loss, and eventually leaving themselves excessive to accomplish.

But whatever difficulties there are with their batting lineup, if they had seized their chances in the field, that 203-run objective would have been significantly less.

It took them three efforts to terminate the 72-run stand second-wicket, with wicketkeeper Joty not managing to take a challenging chance as wicketkeeper to remove Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu got a reprieve from a caught and bowled chance possibility against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was spilled again on 55 runs and 63, the last attempt going directly to Jhilik at cover position, before ultimately being trapped lbw by Shorna as she tried to up the ante with partners falling near her.

Afterwards in the batting effort, there was also a failed stumping and a failed run-out, although the second one was a little unlucky, with Jhilik substituting with the keeping duties due to an physical problem to Joty.

Unfortunately for the team, such fielding issues are not at all a one-off. They've missed 14 chances from a potential 27 chances at this World Cup and boast the worst fielding effectiveness (48.1 percent) of the eight teams.

They are a side who are generally progressing in the correct path – they are playing in just their second ODI World Cup after all – but poor fielding standards is a glaring issue which needs focus.