The Lankan team beats Bangladesh to preserve their World Cup tournament hopes ongoing

Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs

Sri Lanka claimed four wickets in the final innings segment to achieve a thrilling triumph over Bangladesh and maintain their slim aspirations of qualifying for the tournament knockout stage alive.

Chasing a modest target of 203 on a good batting surface in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh wanted nine runs from the last six balls.

Nevertheless, Lankan skipper Athapaththu claimed three wickets in four deliveries and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida to bring about a exciting 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 Australia and the Kiwi side – elevates them tied on four tournament points with the Indian team and the New Zealand side, who confront each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, however, endured a fifth straight defeat since winning their tournament opener against the Pakistani team and have been knocked out.

Even though Bangladesh got off to the ideal beginning, with Marufa taking a wicket with the first delivery of the encounter to send back Vishmi Gunaratne, they were rightfully punished for a poor fielding effort.

They gifted second chances to Hasini Perera, who was spilled three times, and Athapaththu.

While the Sri Lankan skipper could not capitalise, removed leg before wicket for 46 one ball after being dropped by Rabeya Khan, Perera made Bangladesh regret it.

She scored a debut international 50-run score, accumulating 85 from 99 bowls and building an significant 74-run fifth-wicket with De Silva.

Bangladesh, led by Shorna Akter's 3-27, pulled themselves back to the game, with De Silva's wicket in the 34th innings segment triggering a Lankan collapse from 174 for four to 202 total.

During their chase, the Lankan team's initial pace attack Madara and Prabodhani limited Bangladesh to 23 with one wicket down in a disappointing opening overs and they were later diminished to 44 with three wickets lost.

Sharmin Akter and Joty reconstructed their innings, adding 82 for the fourth wicket before Sharmin retired hurt for a stubborn 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was advantage Bangladesh approaching the remaining two innings segments, with only 12 runs needed.

Nevertheless, Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu and allowed only three runs before the captain's chaos, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all dismissed as Sri Lanka grabbed the triumph at the very end.

Finally, it was a game of nerve. The very experienced Athapaththu, who directed away a handful of teammates as she set herself to deliver the last over, kept her nerve. Bangladesh could not.

There will be plenty of doubts about Bangladesh's batting display. They might well have been chasing 270 to 280 with Sri Lanka appearing comfortable on 159 for four in the 30th bowling phase, but instead the target was significantly less.

Yet, the batting side showed little aggression from the start, making runs at less than 2.5 runs per over during the opening overs, suffering a initial wicket loss, and finally leaving themselves excessive to achieve.

But no matter what issues there are with their batting approach, if they had accepted their catches in the fielding area, that 203-run goal would have been substantially less.

It needed them three efforts to break the 72-run second-wicket, with wicketkeeper Joty being unable to take a difficult chance while keeping to send back Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu survived from a return catch chance against Rabeya.

The batter was spilled further on 55 runs and 63, the last attempt flying straight to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover field, before ultimately being dismissed leg before wicket by Shorna Akter as she sought to increase the tempo with batting partners falling around her.

Later in the batting effort, there was additionally a stumping chance missed and a failed run-out, although the latter was a slightly unfortunate, with Rubya Haider standing in with the gloves after an injury to the regular keeper.

Sadly for Bangladesh, such fielding woes are far from a isolated incident. They've missed 14 catches from a available 27 chances at this World Cup and display the poorest catching success rate (48.1%) of the competing sides.

They are a squad who are overall heading in the proper way – they are participating in just their second 50-over World Cup ultimately – but substandard fielding standards is a obvious problem which demands focus.