Sri Lanka beats Bangladesh to preserve their World Cup campaign breathing

Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs margin

The Lankan cricket team claimed four crucial dismissals in the last over to seal a heart-stopping triumph over Bangladesh and maintain their faint aspirations of making it for the World Cup semi-finals intact.

Pursuing a modest total of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in the Mumbai stadium, the Bangladeshi team wanted nine more runs from the final six deliveries.

Nevertheless, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu secured three crucial wickets in four balls and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to achieve a exciting win for the Lankan team.

The victory – the Lankan team's maiden of the World Cup after three losses and two washed-out matches against the Australian team and the Kiwi side – elevates them equal on four points with the Indian team and the New Zealand side, who face each other on the coming Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, on the other hand, experienced a fifth consecutive setback since securing victory in their first match against Pakistan and have been knocked out.

Although Bangladesh made the ideal beginning, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the opening bowl of the game to dismiss Gunaratne, they were deservedly punished for a subpar fielding performance.

They offered lifelines to Hasini Perera, who was dropped on three occasions, and the Lankan captain.

Although the Sri Lankan skipper was unable to capitalise, removed lbw for 46 one ball after being missed by Rabeya, Hasini Perera forced the opposition suffer.

She scored a maiden international fifty, making 85 from 99 balls and sharing an crucial 74-run fifth-wicket collaboration with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, guided by Shorna's impressive bowling figures, dragged themselves back into the match, with De Silva's wicket in the 34th innings segment triggering a Sri Lanka batting collapse from 174 for four to 202 total.

While batting second, Sri Lanka's starting bowlers Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani contained Bangladesh to 23 with one wicket down in a uninspiring opening overs and they were later reduced to 44 for three.

Sharmin Akter and Joty rebuilt their innings, contributing an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket collaboration before the batter left the field injured for a resolute 64 in the 36th over.

It was in favor of Bangladesh entering the final two innings segments, with merely 12 runs needed.

However, Sugandika Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu Moni and gave away only three runs before Athapaththu's dramatic spell, with Rabeya, Nahida Akter, captain Joty and Marufa Akter all sent back as Sri Lanka seized the triumph at the final moment.

In the end, it was a contest of nerves. The seasoned Lankan captain, who directed away a handful of fellow players as she set herself to deliver the last over, held her composure. The opposition did not.

There will be many inquiries about the team's batting display. They possibly have been needing 270 or 280 with Sri Lanka seeming comfortable on 159 for four in the 30th over, but rather the target was considerably smaller.

However, Bangladesh showed little aggression from the start, scoring at below 2.5 runs per over during the opening overs, experiencing a initial wicket loss, and eventually making themselves excessive to do.

But whatever problems there are with their batting approach, if they had seized their catches in the fielding department, that 203-run target goal would have been considerably lower.

It required them three tries to break the 72-run second-wicket association, with keeper Nigar Sultana not managing to grab a difficult chance behind the stumps to remove Perera on 23 before the captain was spared from a return catch chance against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was spilled further on 55 runs and her score of 63, the latter chance going straight to Jhilik at cover, before ultimately being dismissed leg before wicket by Shorna as she sought to up the ante with batting partners falling around her.

Later in the game, there was also a missed stumping and a failed run-out, although the latter was a slightly unfortunate, with Jhilik deputising with the gloves due to an injury to Joty.

Unfortunately for the team, such fielding woes are far from a single occurrence. They've missed 14 opportunities from a potential 27 at this World Cup and display the lowest catch efficiency (less than 50%) of the participating teams.

They are a squad who are overall moving in the correct path – they are participating in just their second ODI World Cup in the end – but inadequate fielding performance is a glaring problem which needs improvement.