Sri Lanka beats Bangladesh to preserve their campaign breathing

ICC Women's World Cup, Mumbai

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

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

Sri Lanka emerge victorious by seven runs margin

Sri Lanka claimed four crucial dismissals in the final innings segment to seal a heart-stopping triumph over their opponents and maintain their faint hopes of making it for the World Cup semi-finals ongoing.

Needing a below-par total of 203 on a favorable wicket in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team required nine more runs from the last six deliveries.

Yet, Lankan skipper Athapaththu took three wickets in four deliveries and Nilakshi de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to bring about a dramatic victory for Sri Lanka.

The win – Sri Lanka's initial of the World Cup after three unsuccessful matches and two washed-out matches against Australia and the Kiwi side – moves them tied on four tournament points with the Indian team and the New Zealand side, who confront each other on Thursday.

Bangladesh, however, endured a fifth consecutive defeat since winning their initial game against Pakistan and have been eliminated.

While Bangladesh made the ideal beginning, with Marufa taking a wicket with the opening bowl of the encounter to send back Vishmi Gunaratne, they were rightfully made to pay for a disappointing fielding display.

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

Even though the Sri Lankan skipper was unable to make it count, dismissed lbw for 46 one ball after being dropped by Rabeya Khan, Perera made Bangladesh pay.

She scored a first international fifty, scoring 85 from 99 deliveries and building an significant 74-run partnership fifth-wicket collaboration with De Silva.

Bangladesh, led by Shorna Akter's impressive bowling figures, dragged themselves back into the contest, with Nilakshi's removal in the 34th over causing a Sri Lanka downfall from 174-4 to 202 total.

While batting second, Sri Lanka's opening bowlers Malki Madara and Prabodhani contained Bangladesh to 23-1 in a disappointing opening overs and they were afterwards reduced to 44-3.

Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty restored their score, putting on 82 for the fourth wicket stand before the batter left the field injured for a stubborn 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was advantage the chasing team entering the final two innings segments, with only 12 runs needed.

Nevertheless, Sugandika Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu and gave away merely three runs before the captain's chaos, with Rabeya, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all sent back as the Lankan team snatched the win at the final moment.

Ultimately, it was a game of composure. The seasoned Athapaththu, who ushered away a handful of team-mates as she prepared to bowl the decisive over, held hers. The opposition failed to.

There will be plenty of questions about Bangladesh's batting display. They possibly have been needing around 270-280 with Sri Lanka looking comfortable on 159-4 in the 30th innings segment, but in contrast the target was considerably smaller.

Nevertheless, Bangladesh showed little purpose from the start, accumulating runs at under 2.5 runs per over during the powerplay, undergoing a early batting collapse, and ultimately leaving themselves overwhelming to do.

But whatever problems there are with their batting, if they had taken their chances in the field, that 203-run target goal would have been substantially less.

It required them three tries to end the 72-run partnership second-wicket association, with wicketkeeper Joty being unable to grab a tough chance behind the stumps to dismiss Hasini Perera on 23 before the captain was spared from a caught and bowled chance against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was spilled again on 55 runs and 63 runs, the final opportunity traveling directly to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before ultimately being dismissed lbw by Shorna as she sought to accelerate the scoring with batting partners being dismissed around her.

Afterwards in the innings, there was additionally a missed stumping and a run-out opportunity lost, while the run-out chance was a somewhat regrettable, with Rubya Haider standing in with the wicketkeeping gloves following an injury to Joty.

Unfortunately for Bangladesh, such fielding woes are far from a single occurrence. They've missed 14 opportunities from a available 27 chances at this competition and boast the poorest catch efficiency (less than 50%) of the eight teams.

They are a side who are overall moving in the correct path – they are participating in only their second one-day World Cup after all – but inadequate fielding is a obvious concern which requires improvement.