The Lankan team defeats Bangladesh to keep their World Cup tournament hopes ongoing

ICC Women's World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

Sri Lanka win by seven runs

The Lankan cricket team took four crucial dismissals in the final over to complete a thrilling victory over their opponents and maintain their slim hopes of making it for the World Cup semi-finals ongoing.

Chasing a attainable score of 203 on a good batting surface in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh required nine runs from the last six bowls.

Nevertheless, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu claimed three crucial wickets in four deliveries and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to secure a exciting success for Sri Lanka.

The victory – Sri Lanka's maiden of the tournament after three defeats and two abandoned games against the Australian team and New Zealand – pushes them equal on four tournament points with India and the New Zealand side, who meet each other on Thursday.

Bangladesh, however, endured a fifth straight defeat since securing victory in their initial game against the Pakistani team and have been eliminated.

Even though the Bangladeshi side got off to the excellent commencement, with Marufa taking a wicket with the opening bowl of the match to remove Vishmi Gunaratne, they were deservedly made to pay for a poor fielding display.

They provided second chances to Hasini Perera, who was spilled on three occasions, and Athapaththu.

Although the Sri Lankan skipper could not make it count, removed leg before wicket for 46 one ball after being put down by Rabeya, Hasini Perera made Bangladesh pay.

She scored a maiden international half-century, scoring 85 from 99 bowls and sharing an significant 74-run partnership fifth-wicket association with Nilakshi de Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, guided by Shorna's three wickets for 27 runs, pulled themselves back into the match, with De Silva's removal in the 34th over triggering a Sri Lanka batting collapse from 174 for four to 202 total.

During their chase, the Lankan team's initial pace attack Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani limited the opposition to 23 for one in a uninspiring opening overs and they were subsequently reduced to 44 for three.

Sharmin Akter and Joty restored their innings, adding 82 for the fourth wicket stand before the batter left the field injured for a stubborn 64 in the 36th over.

It was advantage Bangladesh heading into the remaining two overs, with just 12 additional runs needed.

Nevertheless, Sugandika Dasanayaka sent back Ritu and allowed just three scoring runs before the captain's decisive intervention, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa all sent back as Sri Lanka seized the triumph at the final moment.

Finally, it was a contest of composure. The highly experienced Lankan captain, who directed away a handful of team-mates as she set herself to bowl the final over, held her composure. The opposition did not.

There will be many inquiries about the team's batting display. They might well have been chasing around 270-280 with Sri Lanka seeming at ease on 159-4 in the 30th innings segment, but instead the required total was much lower.

However, the batting side lacked intent from ball one, accumulating runs at under 2.5 scoring rate during the powerplay, experiencing a top-order collapse, and ultimately making themselves too much to do.

But whatever problems there are with their batting lineup, if they had taken their opportunities in the field, that 203-run objective would have been significantly smaller.

It needed them three attempts to end the 72-run partnership second-wicket association, with keeper Nigar Sultana failing to take a tough catch behind the stumps to remove Perera on 23 before the captain was spared from a caught and bowled chance against Rabeya.

Perera was spilled again on 55 and 63, the final opportunity traveling directly to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover field, before finally being trapped lbw by Shorna Akter as she tried to up the ante with teammates falling beside her.

Afterwards in the game, there was also a stumping chance missed and a failed run-out, while the run-out chance was a little regrettable, with Rubya Haider deputising with the wicketkeeping gloves due to an physical problem to Joty.

Regrettably for the team, such fielding woes are nowhere near a single occurrence. They've dropped 14 catches from a available 27 opportunities at this tournament and boast the poorest catch efficiency (48.1 percent) of the participating teams.

They are a side who are overall moving in the right direction – they are participating in merely their second one-day World Cup in the end – but substandard fielding standards is a glaring problem which requires focus.