Sri Lanka beats the Bangladeshi side to keep their campaign alive

ICC Women's World Cup, Mumbai

The Lankan team 202 (48.4 overs): 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 secured four wickets in the decisive innings segment to seal a heart-stopping win over Bangladesh and maintain their narrow chances of qualifying for the tournament knockout stage intact.

Chasing a modest score of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh wanted nine runs from the remaining six deliveries.

Nevertheless, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu secured three wickets in four balls and Nilakshi de Silva ran out Nahida Akter to bring about a exciting victory for Sri Lanka.

The victory – the Lankan team's initial of the competition after three losses and two abandoned games against Australia and the Kiwi side – pushes them tied on four match points with the Indian team and the New Zealand side, who confront each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, however, endured a fifth consecutive setback since winning their initial game against the Pakistani team and have been knocked out.

Even though Bangladesh made the ideal beginning, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the initial ball of the game to dismiss Gunaratne, they were deservedly made to pay for a subpar fielding display.

They provided lifelines to Hasini Perera, who was spilled on three occasions, and the Lankan captain.

Although the Sri Lankan skipper was unable to take advantage, removed leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being dropped by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera forced the opposition pay.

She scored a first international 50-run score, scoring 85 from 99 bowls and contributing to an important 74-run fifth-wicket collaboration with De Silva.

Bangladesh, led by Shorna's impressive bowling figures, pulled themselves back in the game, with Nilakshi's wicket in the 34th innings segment initiating a Lankan batting collapse from 174-4 to 202 complete.

In reply, Sri Lanka's initial pace attack Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani limited the opposition to 23-1 in a lacklustre opening overs and they were subsequently brought down to 44 for three.

Sharmin Akter and Nigar Sultana Joty restored their innings, adding 82 runs for the fourth wicket before Sharmin left the field injured for a stubborn 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was in favor of Bangladesh entering the final two innings segments, with only 12 runs required.

However, Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu and conceded only three runs before the captain's dramatic spell, with Rabeya, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa all sent back as Sri Lanka seized the triumph at the final moment.

In the end, it was a contest of nerves. The seasoned Lankan captain, who moved aside a several of teammates as she set herself to deliver the last over, maintained her composure. The opposition failed to.

There will be numerous inquiries about the team's batting effort. They could easily have been chasing 270 to 280 with Sri Lanka appearing comfortable on 159 for four in the 30th innings segment, but instead the required total was significantly less.

Nevertheless, the batting side lacked aggression from the start, scoring at less than 2.5 runs each over during the opening overs, suffering a top-order collapse, and eventually forcing themselves too much to do.

But no matter what difficulties there are with their batting, if they had seized their catches in the fielding department, that 203-run target goal would have been substantially smaller.

It took them three attempts to terminate the 72-run stand second-wicket association, with keeper Joty being unable to hold a challenging opportunity while keeping to remove Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before the captain was spared from a caught and bowled possibility against Rabeya.

The batter was dropped again on her score of 55 and 63 runs, the last attempt going straight to Jhilik at cover position, before finally being dismissed leg before wicket by Shorna as she attempted to up the ante with partners being dismissed near her.

Afterwards in the innings, there was also a missed stumping and a failed run-out, while the run-out chance was a slightly unlucky, with Rubya Haider deputising with the wicketkeeping gloves due to an physical problem to the regular keeper.

Regrettably for the team, such fielding problems are not at all a isolated incident. They've failed to catch 14 catches from a possible 27 chances at this competition and display the lowest fielding effectiveness (less than 50%) of the competing sides.

They are a side who are generally heading in the correct path – they are participating in merely their second one-day World Cup in the end – but substandard fielding standards is a glaring issue which requires focus.