Sri Lanka defeats the Bangladeshi side to preserve their campaign ongoing

Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai

Sri Lanka 202 (48.4 overs): Hasini 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

Sri Lanka took four wickets in the last over to achieve a nail-biting triumph over Bangladesh and keep their narrow hopes of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals alive.

Needing a attainable target of 203 on a good batting surface in the Mumbai stadium, the Bangladeshi team required nine more runs from the remaining six deliveries.

However, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu secured three crucial wickets in four balls and de Silva ran out Nahida to achieve a dramatic win for the Lankan team.

The win – the Lankan team's maiden of the competition after three unsuccessful matches and two washed-out matches against Australia and the Kiwi side – moves them equal on four points with the Indian team and New Zealand, who face each other on the coming Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, in contrast, experienced a fifth straight setback since winning their tournament opener against the Pakistani team and have been removed from contention.

Although Bangladesh got off to the perfect start, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the first delivery of the match to send back Vishmi Gunaratne, they were rightfully penalized for a subpar fielding effort.

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

Although Athapaththu failed to make it count, sent back leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being put down by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera forced Bangladesh pay.

She scored a maiden international fifty, accumulating 85 from 99 deliveries and building an significant 74-run partnership fifth-wicket collaboration with De Silva.

Bangladesh, guided by Shorna Akter's three wickets for 27 runs, dragged themselves back in the contest, with De Silva's dismissal in the 34th innings segment causing a Lankan downfall from 174 for four to 202 total.

While batting second, the Lankan team's opening bowlers Malki Madara and Prabodhani limited the opposition to 23 for one in a lacklustre powerplay and they were afterwards diminished to 44 for three.

Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty restored their score, putting on an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket stand before Sharmin left the field injured for a stubborn 64 in the 36th over.

It was leaning toward Bangladesh approaching the remaining two innings segments, with merely 12 more runs necessary.

However, Dasanayaka removed Ritu Moni and conceded just three runs before Athapaththu's dramatic spell, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa Akter all sent back as Sri Lanka snatched the triumph at the very end.

In the end, it was a game of nerves. The very experienced Lankan captain, who moved aside a few of team-mates as she prepared to bowl the decisive over, held her nerve. Bangladesh did not.

There will be plenty of doubts about the team's batting display. They possibly have been pursuing 270 or 280 with Sri Lanka appearing comfortable on 159 for four in the 30th over, but instead the required total was considerably smaller.

Nevertheless, Bangladesh displayed insufficient intent from the very beginning, accumulating runs at less than 2.5 runs per over during the powerplay, experiencing a initial wicket loss, and ultimately making themselves overwhelming to accomplish.

But no matter what issues there are with their batting lineup, if they had taken their chances in the field, that 203 total target would have been significantly smaller.

It took them three attempts to break the 72-run stand second-wicket, with keeper Nigar Sultana not managing to take a tough catch behind the stumps to send back Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before the captain was spared from a caught and bowled possibility against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was missed once more on 55 runs and her score of 63, the last attempt traveling directly to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before eventually being trapped leg before wicket by Shorna Akter as she attempted to increase the tempo with partners getting out beside her.

Subsequently in the innings, there was additionally a stumping chance missed and a run-out opportunity lost, even though the latter was a slightly unlucky, with Jhilik standing in with the gloves following an fitness issue to the regular keeper.

Regrettably for Bangladesh, such fielding issues are far from a one-off. They've missed 14 opportunities from a possible 27 at this World Cup and have the worst fielding effectiveness (48.1 percent) of the eight teams.

They are a squad who are overall progressing in the correct path – they are competing in merely their second ODI World Cup after all – but inadequate fielding standards is a prominent concern which requires improvement.