The Lankan team defeats Bangladesh to keep their tournament hopes ongoing

ICC Women's World Cup, Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side win by seven runs

Sri Lanka claimed four crucial dismissals in the decisive over to achieve a thrilling victory over Bangladesh and maintain their faint chances of making it for the tournament knockout stage ongoing.

Chasing a below-par total of 203 on a good batting surface in the Mumbai stadium, the Bangladeshi team needed nine more runs from the last six balls.

However, Lankan skipper Athapaththu secured three crucial wickets in four bowls and Nilakshi de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to achieve a thrilling victory for the Lankan team.

The win – 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 – moves them level on four points with India and the New Zealand side, who meet each other on Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, however, endured a fifth straight defeat since securing victory in their first match against the Pakistani team and have been knocked out.

While Bangladesh got off to the excellent commencement, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the initial ball of the match to send back Gunaratne, they were appropriately penalized for a disappointing fielding effort.

They gifted lifelines to Perera, who was dropped three times, and the Lankan captain.

Even though the Sri Lankan skipper could not make it count, dismissed lbw for 46 one ball after being put down by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera forced Bangladesh suffer.

She scored a maiden international 50-run score, scoring 85 from 99 deliveries and sharing an important 74-run fifth-wicket collaboration with Nilakshi de Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, led by Shorna Akter's impressive bowling figures, fought themselves back to the contest, with Nilakshi's wicket in the 34th over triggering a Lankan downfall from 174 with four wickets down to 202 total.

During their chase, the Lankan team's starting bowlers Malki Madara and Prabodhani contained the opposition to 23-1 in a lacklustre powerplay and they were later brought down to 44-3.

Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty rebuilt their innings, putting on an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket before the batter retired hurt for a stubborn 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was in favor of the chasing team heading into the remaining two overs, with merely 12 runs required.

However, Sugandika Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu Moni and allowed just three scoring runs before Athapaththu's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa Akter all dismissed as the Lankan team seized the victory at the death.

In the end, it was a match of nerves. The very experienced Lankan captain, who moved aside a several of teammates as she got ready to bowl the decisive over, kept her nerve. Bangladesh did not.

There will be numerous questions about Bangladesh's batting effort. They could easily have been needing around 270-280 with Sri Lanka appearing comfortable on 159 for four in the 30th bowling phase, but rather the chase was considerably smaller.

Yet, Bangladesh displayed insufficient aggression from ball one, accumulating runs at less than 2.5 runs each over during the initial phase, experiencing a top-order collapse, and eventually forcing themselves excessive to accomplish.

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

It needed them three attempts to end the 72-run partnership second-wicket, with wicketkeeper Joty failing to take a tough opportunity as wicketkeeper to remove Hasini Perera on 23 before Athapaththu was spared from a return catch chance against Rabeya.

The batter was spilled further on her score of 55 and her score of 63, the latter chance flying straight to Jhilik at cover position, before finally being dismissed leg before wicket by Shorna as she attempted to up the ante with partners falling beside her.

Subsequently in the game, there was also a stumping chance missed and a run-out opportunity lost, while the second one was a slightly unlucky, with Jhilik substituting with the gloves due to an fitness issue to Joty.

Unfortunately for the team, such fielding problems are far from a single occurrence. They've dropped 14 opportunities from a available 27 opportunities at this competition and display the poorest catch efficiency (48.1 percent) of the competing sides.

They are a side who are typically progressing in the correct path – they are participating in merely their second 50-over World Cup ultimately – but substandard fielding performance is a prominent concern which demands focus.