The Lankan team defeats Bangladesh to preserve their World Cup tournament hopes alive

ICC Women's World Cup, Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side win by seven runs

The Lankan cricket team claimed four crucial dismissals in the decisive over to seal a heart-stopping triumph over Bangladesh and maintain their faint chances of making it for the World Cup semi-finals ongoing.

Needing a below-par total of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh needed nine additional runs from the last six deliveries.

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

The triumph – the Lankan team's maiden of the tournament after three defeats and two abandoned games against Australia and the Kiwi side – moves them equal on four match points with India and New Zealand, who confront each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, in contrast, experienced a fifth straight loss since securing victory in their initial game against the Pakistani team and have been knocked out.

Even though Bangladesh made the excellent commencement, with Marufa Akter striking with the first delivery of the encounter to dismiss Vishmi Gunaratne, they were deservedly penalized for a disappointing fielding performance.

They offered second chances to Hasini Perera, who was dropped on three occasions, and the Lankan captain.

Even though Athapaththu failed to take advantage, removed lbw for 46 a single bowl after being missed by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera forced the opposition suffer.

She scored a debut international fifty, accumulating 85 from 99 bowls and contributing to an important 74-run partnership fifth-wicket with De Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, led by Shorna Akter's impressive bowling figures, pulled themselves back to the game, with Nilakshi's dismissal in the 34th innings segment initiating a Sri Lanka downfall from 174 with four wickets down to 202 complete.

During their chase, the Lankan team's initial pace attack Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani restricted Bangladesh to 23-1 in a lacklustre initial phase and they were later brought down to 44-3.

Sharmin Akter and Joty rebuilt their batting effort, adding 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 Bangladesh heading into the last two overs, with merely 12 additional runs needed.

Yet, Dasanayaka removed Ritu and conceded merely three runs before Athapaththu's chaos, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa all removed as Sri Lanka seized the triumph at the death.

Ultimately, it was a game of nerves. The very experienced Athapaththu, who ushered away a handful of team-mates as she set herself to deliver the decisive over, maintained her nerve. Bangladesh did not.

There will be plenty of doubts about the team's batting performance. They might well have been chasing 270 to 280 with Sri Lanka appearing at ease on 159 for four in the 30th innings segment, but in contrast the target was much lower.

However, the batting side lacked aggression from ball one, accumulating runs at under 2.5 runs each over during the initial phase, undergoing a initial wicket loss, and ultimately making themselves too much to do.

But no matter what issues there are with their batting, if they had taken their opportunities in the fielding department, that 203 total goal would have been considerably smaller.

It took them three efforts to end the 72-run second-wicket, with keeper Joty not managing to take a challenging opportunity behind the stumps to send back Hasini Perera on 23 runs before the captain was spared from a caught and bowled chance against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was missed once more on 55 and 63 runs, the final opportunity going directly to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover field, before ultimately being given out leg before wicket by Shorna as she attempted to up the ante with partners getting out near her.

Subsequently in the game, there was additionally a stumping chance missed and a run-out opportunity lost, although the latter was a little unlucky, with Rubya Haider standing in with the gloves after an injury to Joty.

Sadly for Bangladesh, such fielding issues are not at all a one-off. They've failed to catch 14 catches from a possible 27 opportunities at this tournament and display the lowest fielding effectiveness (48.1 percent) of the competing sides.

They are a team who are overall progressing in the correct path – they are participating in just their second ODI World Cup in the end – but substandard fielding is a prominent concern which demands improvement.