Sri Lanka defeats Bangladesh to maintain their World Cup tournament hopes breathing

Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs margin

Sri Lanka took four crucial dismissals in the last innings segment to complete a thrilling win over Bangladesh and preserve their slim chances of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals alive.

Needing a below-par total of 203 on a good batting surface in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh needed nine runs from the final six deliveries.

However, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu claimed three crucial wickets in four balls and de Silva ran out Nahida Akter to bring about a exciting victory for the Lankan team.

The win – the Lankan team's first of the tournament after three losses and two abandoned games against the Australian team and New Zealand – moves them tied on four tournament points with India and the New Zealand side, who meet each other on Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, however, suffered a fifth consecutive defeat since winning their first match against Pakistan and have been knocked out.

Although Bangladesh made the perfect start, with Marufa striking with the initial ball of the match to remove Vishmi Gunaratne, they were rightfully punished for a poor fielding effort.

They offered second chances to Hasini Perera, who was missed three times, and the Lankan captain.

Even though Athapaththu failed to capitalise, sent back leg before wicket for 46 one ball after being dropped by Rabeya, Perera forced the opposition suffer.

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

The Bangladeshi team, guided by Shorna Akter's impressive bowling figures, dragged themselves back in the game, with De Silva's removal in the 34th bowling segment triggering a Lankan downfall from 174 for four to 202 total.

In reply, Sri Lanka's initial pace attack Madara and Prabodhani restricted Bangladesh to 23-1 in a lacklustre initial phase and they were subsequently brought down to 44 for three.

Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty rebuilt their score, contributing an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket before Sharmin withdrew due to injury for a determined 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was advantage the chasing team entering the remaining two innings segments, with merely 12 additional runs necessary.

Yet, Sugandika Dasanayaka removed Ritu Moni and conceded merely three scoring runs before the captain's decisive intervention, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, captain Joty and Marufa all removed as Sri Lanka snatched the triumph at the very end.

Finally, it was a contest of nerve. The highly experienced Athapaththu, who ushered away a few of team-mates as she prepared to bowl the final over, kept her nerve. The opposition did not.

There will be many doubts about Bangladesh's batting performance. They could easily have been needing 270 to 280 with Sri Lanka looking settled on 159-4 in the 30th bowling phase, but rather the required total was considerably smaller.

However, the batting side showed little aggression from ball one, making runs at less than 2.5 runs per over during the opening overs, experiencing a top-order collapse, and ultimately leaving themselves too much to do.

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

It took them three attempts to terminate the 72-run second-wicket association, with keeper Nigar Sultana not managing to hold a challenging opportunity as wicketkeeper to dismiss Hasini Perera on 23 before Athapaththu survived from a return catch chance against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was dropped again on her score of 55 and 63 runs, the latter chance traveling right to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover position, before eventually being given out lbw by Shorna as she tried to accelerate the scoring with teammates getting out around her.

Subsequently in the game, there was furthermore a failed stumping and a missed run-out, even though the latter was a somewhat unlucky, with Jhilik substituting with the keeping duties following an physical problem to the regular keeper.

Regrettably for Bangladesh, such fielding issues are nowhere near a isolated incident. They've missed 14 chances from a possible 27 at this tournament and display the lowest catch efficiency (48.1 percent) of the eight teams.

They are a squad who are typically moving in the proper way – they are playing in just their second one-day World Cup in the end – but inadequate fielding standards is a obvious concern which demands improvement.