Sri Lanka beats the Bangladeshi side to maintain their World Cup tournament hopes breathing

ICC Women's World Cup, Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs

The Lankan cricket team took four crucial dismissals in the last over to complete a thrilling triumph over Bangladesh and keep their narrow aspirations of making it for the tournament knockout stage ongoing.

Needing a below-par target of 203 on a favorable wicket in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh required nine more runs from the remaining six deliveries.

Yet, Lankan skipper Athapaththu took three important dismissals in four deliveries and Nilakshi de Silva ran out Nahida Akter to bring about a exciting success for the Lankan team.

The triumph – Sri Lanka's maiden of the World Cup after three losses and two no-results against the Australian team and the Kiwi side – moves them level on four points with India and the New Zealand side, who face each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, in contrast, endured a fifth successive setback since securing victory in their first match against the Pakistani team and have been eliminated.

Even though the Bangladeshi side made the perfect start, with Marufa Akter striking with the initial ball of the match to send back Gunaratne, they were rightfully punished for a poor fielding display.

They offered reprieves to Perera, who was spilled three times, and the Lankan captain.

Even though Athapaththu could not make it count, removed lbw for 46 one ball after being put down by Rabeya, Perera made Bangladesh suffer.

She registered a first international fifty, accumulating 85 from 99 balls and building an important 74-run stand fifth-wicket collaboration with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna Akter's three wickets for 27 runs, dragged themselves back into the game, with Nilakshi's removal in the 34th bowling segment triggering a Sri Lanka downfall from 174-4 to 202 total.

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

Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty restored their score, contributing 82 runs for the fourth wicket stand before Sharmin withdrew due to injury for a resolute 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was advantage Bangladesh heading into the final two overs, with only 12 more runs needed.

Yet, Sugandika Dasanayaka removed Ritu Moni and conceded only three runs before Athapaththu's chaos, with Rabeya, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa all dismissed as the Lankan team grabbed the triumph at the death.

Finally, it was a game of nerves. The highly experienced Lankan captain, who ushered away a several of team-mates as she got ready to bowl the decisive over, kept hers. The opposition did not.

There will be many questions about the team's batting display. They possibly have been chasing 270 to 280 with the Lankan team appearing settled on 159-4 in the 30th over, but in contrast the required total was considerably smaller.

Nevertheless, Bangladesh showed little purpose from the start, scoring at under 2.5 runs per over during the opening overs, suffering a early batting collapse, and ultimately forcing themselves overwhelming to do.

But no matter what difficulties there are with their batting approach, if they had accepted their catches in the fielding department, that 203-run target would have been significantly smaller.

It needed them three attempts to terminate the 72-run stand second-wicket association, with keeper Joty failing to hold a difficult chance behind the stumps to send back Perera on 23 before Athapaththu got a reprieve from a caught and bowled chance possibility against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was spilled further on 55 runs and her score of 63, the last attempt flying straight to Jhilik at cover field, before eventually being trapped lbw by Shorna Akter as she sought to accelerate the scoring with batting partners being dismissed near her.

Subsequently in the game, there was additionally a stumping chance missed and a failed run-out, while the second one was a slightly regrettable, with Rubya Haider deputising with the wicketkeeping gloves following an physical problem to Joty.

Regrettably for the team, such fielding problems are nowhere near a single occurrence. They've dropped 14 catches from a available 27 at this tournament and have the poorest fielding effectiveness (48.1%) of the competing sides.

They are a side who are generally progressing in the right direction – they are participating in merely their second 50-over World Cup after all – but poor fielding standards is a prominent problem which needs attention.