The Lankan team beats Bangladesh to maintain their World Cup campaign ongoing

ICC Women's World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

Sri Lanka win by seven runs margin

Sri Lanka secured four crucial dismissals in the final innings segment to seal a nail-biting victory over their opponents and preserve their slim chances of making it for the World Cup semi-finals alive.

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

Nevertheless, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu claimed three wickets in four bowls and Nilakshi de Silva ran out Nahida to achieve a dramatic success for Sri Lanka.

The win – Sri Lanka's initial of the tournament after three defeats and two no-results against Australia and the Kiwi side – pushes them tied on four match points with India and New Zealand, who confront each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, endured a fifth straight setback since securing victory in their tournament opener against Pakistan and have been knocked out.

Although Bangladesh got off to the ideal beginning, with Marufa Akter striking with the first delivery of the game to remove Gunaratne, they were appropriately penalized for a disappointing fielding display.

They provided reprieves to Perera, who was spilled three times, and the Lankan captain.

While the Sri Lankan skipper failed to capitalise, removed leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being dropped by Rabeya, Hasini Perera forced Bangladesh pay.

She scored a maiden international fifty, making 85 from 99 deliveries and contributing to an significant 74-run fifth-wicket association with De Silva.

Bangladesh, led by Shorna Akter's impressive bowling figures, fought themselves back to the match, with Nilakshi's wicket in the 34th bowling segment initiating a Lankan collapse from 174 for four to 202 complete.

During their chase, Sri Lanka's starting bowlers Madara and Prabodhani limited Bangladesh to 23-1 in a uninspiring initial phase and they were subsequently diminished to 44-3.

Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty reconstructed their score, contributing an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket stand before the batter left the field injured for a determined 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was leaning toward the chasing team entering the remaining two bowling phases, with merely 12 runs required.

However, Sugandika Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu and conceded only three scoring runs before Athapaththu's decisive intervention, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, captain Joty and Marufa Akter all sent back as the Lankan team grabbed the victory at the final moment.

In the end, it was a match of nerves. The seasoned Lankan captain, who ushered away a several of team-mates as she prepared to deliver the decisive over, held her composure. The opposition could not.

There will be plenty of questions about the team's batting effort. They could easily have been needing 270 or 280 with Sri Lanka looking comfortable on 159 for four in the 30th innings segment, but instead the required total was considerably smaller.

Nevertheless, Bangladesh showed little aggression from the very beginning, making runs at below 2.5 runs per over during the opening overs, suffering a initial wicket loss, and ultimately making themselves too much to accomplish.

But no matter what issues there are with their batting approach, if they had seized their opportunities in the fielding area, that 203 total goal would have been significantly less.

It required them three attempts to end the 72-run second-wicket collaboration, with keeper Joty not managing to hold a tough chance while keeping to remove Perera on 23 before Athapaththu survived from a caught and bowled opportunity against Rabeya.

The batter was missed once more on 55 and her score of 63, the last attempt traveling right to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before ultimately being trapped lbw by Shorna as she attempted to up the ante with teammates falling near her.

Later in the game, there was also a missed stumping and a failed run-out, although the latter was a slightly regrettable, with Jhilik substituting with the keeping duties following an injury to Joty.

Regrettably for the team, such fielding issues are far from a isolated incident. They've failed to catch 14 chances from a possible 27 opportunities at this World Cup and display the lowest fielding effectiveness (48.1 percent) of the participating teams.

They are a squad who are overall progressing in the right direction – they are playing in merely their second ODI World Cup in the end – but substandard fielding is a obvious issue which requires attention.