Sri Lanka overcomes the Bangladeshi side to keep their World Cup tournament hopes alive

ICC Women's World Cup, Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs margin

Sri Lanka claimed four crucial dismissals in the decisive over to complete a heart-stopping win over their opponents and preserve their faint hopes of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals ongoing.

Chasing a modest target of 203 on a good batting surface in the Mumbai stadium, the Bangladeshi team needed nine additional runs from the remaining six deliveries.

Yet, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu secured three crucial wickets in four bowls and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to achieve a exciting victory for Sri Lanka.

The win – Sri Lanka's maiden of the tournament after three defeats and two washed-out matches against Australia and the Kiwi side – moves them level on four tournament points with India and the New Zealand side, who face each other on Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, however, suffered a fifth successive loss since winning their first match against the Pakistani team and have been removed from contention.

While the Bangladeshi side got off to the excellent commencement, with Marufa taking a wicket with the first delivery of the game to dismiss Gunaratne, they were appropriately made to pay for a disappointing fielding effort.

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

Although the Sri Lankan skipper failed to capitalise, sent back leg before wicket for 46 one ball after being put down by Rabeya Khan, Perera made the opposition suffer.

She achieved a debut international 50-run score, accumulating 85 from 99 balls and sharing an significant 74-run partnership fifth-wicket with Nilakshi de Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, spearheaded by Shorna's three wickets for 27 runs, fought themselves back into the contest, with De Silva's dismissal in the 34th bowling segment causing a Sri Lanka batting collapse from 174 with four wickets down to 202 total.

During their chase, the Lankan team's opening bowlers Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani restricted the opposition to 23-1 in a uninspiring initial phase and they were later diminished to 44 for three.

Sharmin and Joty rebuilt their batting effort, adding 82 runs for the fourth wicket collaboration before the batter withdrew due to injury for a resolute 64 in the 36th over.

It was in favor of Bangladesh heading into the final two overs, with merely 12 runs needed.

However, Sugandika Dasanayaka sent back Ritu Moni and conceded only three runs before the captain's dramatic spell, with Rabeya, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all sent back as the Lankan team snatched the triumph at the death.

Finally, it was a contest of nerve. The very experienced Lankan captain, who directed away a few of fellow players as she got ready to deliver the decisive over, maintained her nerve. The opposition did not.

There will be numerous doubts about the team's batting effort. They possibly have been needing 270 to 280 with the Lankan team seeming comfortable on 159-4 in the 30th over, but rather the required total was considerably smaller.

Yet, the batting side displayed insufficient intent from the start, making runs at less than 2.5 runs each over during the initial phase, undergoing a early batting collapse, and finally forcing themselves overwhelming to accomplish.

But no matter what problems there are with their batting, if they had taken their chances in the field, that 203 total target would have been considerably lower.

It needed them three efforts to break the 72-run stand second-wicket association, with keeper Nigar Sultana being unable to hold a challenging catch as wicketkeeper to remove Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu was spared from a caught and bowled chance against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was missed further on 55 runs and her score of 63, the final opportunity going straight to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover field, before ultimately being dismissed leg before wicket by Shorna Akter as she attempted to up the ante with batting partners being dismissed around her.

Subsequently in the game, there was also a stumping chance missed and a missed run-out, although the latter was a slightly regrettable, with Rubya Haider deputising with the keeping duties after an injury to Joty.

Unfortunately for the team, such fielding issues are far from a isolated incident. They've failed to catch 14 catches from a possible 27 chances at this World Cup and display the lowest catching success rate (48.1%) of the eight teams.

They are a squad who are typically heading in the right direction – they are competing in merely their second ODI World Cup ultimately – but poor fielding standards is a obvious issue which requires improvement.