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

ICC Women's World Cup, Mumbai

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

The Bangladeshi team 195-9 (50 overs): 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 achieve a thrilling triumph over Bangladesh and keep their narrow hopes of qualifying for the tournament knockout stage ongoing.

Pursuing a modest total of 203 on a good batting surface in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team required nine more runs from the final six deliveries.

Nevertheless, Lankan skipper Athapaththu secured three crucial wickets in four bowls and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to achieve a dramatic victory for Sri Lanka.

The triumph – Sri Lanka's first of the World Cup after three unsuccessful matches and two no-results against Australia and New Zealand – pushes them equal on four tournament points with India and the New Zealand side, who confront each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, in contrast, experienced a fifth consecutive defeat since securing victory in their tournament opener against the Pakistani team and have been eliminated.

While the Bangladeshi side got off to the perfect start, with Marufa striking with the first delivery of the match to send back Gunaratne, they were appropriately made to pay for a subpar fielding effort.

They gifted second chances to Hasini Perera, who was dropped multiple times, and Athapaththu.

Even though Athapaththu could not take advantage, dismissed lbw for 46 one ball after being dropped by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera forced the opposition suffer.

She scored a maiden international fifty, scoring 85 from 99 bowls and sharing an significant 74-run fifth-wicket association with De Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, led by Shorna's three wickets for 27 runs, dragged themselves back into the match, with Nilakshi's dismissal in the 34th over causing a Sri Lanka batting collapse from 174 with four wickets down to 202 complete.

While batting second, Sri Lanka's starting bowlers Malki Madara and Prabodhani contained the opposition to 23 for one in a disappointing powerplay and they were afterwards reduced to 44-3.

Sharmin and Joty reconstructed their batting effort, contributing 82 for the fourth wicket collaboration before Sharmin retired hurt for a stubborn 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was advantage the chasing team heading into the last two innings segments, with only 12 additional runs required.

Nevertheless, Dasanayaka removed Ritu and gave away just three scoring runs before Athapaththu's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all sent back as Sri Lanka grabbed the win at the final moment.

Ultimately, it was a match of nerve. The seasoned Athapaththu, who ushered away a handful of teammates as she prepared to bowl the last over, kept hers. The opposition did not.

There will be many inquiries about the team's batting display. They possibly have been chasing 270 to 280 with the Lankan team looking comfortable on 159-4 in the 30th bowling phase, but rather the target was considerably smaller.

However, the batting side displayed insufficient intent from the very beginning, scoring at less than 2.5 runs each over during the opening overs, suffering a initial wicket loss, and eventually leaving themselves overwhelming to achieve.

But no matter what issues there are with their batting lineup, if they had accepted their chances in the field, that 203-run target would have been substantially lower.

It took them three attempts to terminate the 72-run second-wicket collaboration, with wicketkeeper Nigar Sultana being unable to take a tough opportunity as wicketkeeper to remove Hasini Perera on 23 runs before Athapaththu got a reprieve from a return catch chance against Rabeya Khan.

The batter was dropped once more on 55 runs and 63, the latter chance traveling straight to Jhilik at cover, before eventually being trapped leg before wicket by Shorna as she attempted to up the ante with batting partners falling near her.

Afterwards in the game, there was furthermore a stumping chance missed and a run-out opportunity lost, while the second one was a slightly unlucky, with Jhilik standing in with the keeping duties following an fitness issue to the regular keeper.

Regrettably for the team, such fielding woes are nowhere near a one-off. They've missed 14 chances from a potential 27 at this competition and have the lowest fielding effectiveness (less than 50%) of the participating teams.

They are a squad who are overall moving in the proper way – they are competing in merely their second one-day World Cup after all – but poor fielding standards is a prominent issue which demands attention.