The Lankan team defeats the Bangladeshi side to keep their tournament hopes alive

ICC Women's World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

Sri Lanka emerge victorious by seven runs

The Lankan cricket team took four crucial dismissals in the final over to complete a nail-biting triumph over their opponents and maintain their slim hopes of making it for the World Cup semi-finals alive.

Pursuing a attainable total of 203 on a favorable wicket in the Mumbai stadium, the Bangladeshi team wanted nine runs from the last six balls.

Nevertheless, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu took three crucial wickets in four balls and Nilakshi de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to achieve a exciting success for the Lankan team.

The win – Sri Lanka's maiden of the tournament after three losses and two abandoned games against the Australian team and the Kiwi side – moves them level on four tournament points with India and the New Zealand side, who meet each other on Thursday.

Bangladesh, however, endured a fifth consecutive defeat since winning their initial game against Pakistan and have been knocked out.

Although the Bangladeshi side got off to the excellent commencement, with Marufa taking a wicket with the initial ball of the game to dismiss Vishmi Gunaratne, they were deservedly punished for a subpar fielding display.

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

While the Sri Lankan skipper failed to take advantage, removed leg before wicket for 46 one ball after being put down by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera forced Bangladesh suffer.

She scored a maiden international 50-run score, accumulating 85 from 99 balls and contributing to an significant 74-run partnership fifth-wicket with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, led by Shorna's impressive bowling figures, dragged themselves back to the game, with De Silva's dismissal in the 34th innings segment causing a Lankan collapse from 174 with four wickets down to 202 total.

During their chase, Sri Lanka's initial pace attack Madara and Prabodhani limited Bangladesh to 23-1 in a uninspiring initial phase and they were subsequently reduced to 44 for three.

Sharmin Akter and Nigar Sultana Joty reconstructed their batting effort, putting on an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket collaboration before Sharmin retired hurt for a stubborn 64 in the 36th innings segment.

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

Yet, Sugandika Dasanayaka sent back Ritu and gave away only three runs before Athapaththu's dramatic spell, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all dismissed as Sri Lanka grabbed the triumph at the final moment.

Ultimately, it was a contest of nerves. The seasoned Lankan captain, who directed away a few of team-mates as she prepared to bowl the decisive over, kept hers. The opposition could not.

There will be plenty of doubts about the team's batting performance. They might well have been needing around 270-280 with Sri Lanka seeming settled on 159 for four in the 30th innings segment, but rather the target was much lower.

Yet, Bangladesh lacked intent from the start, accumulating runs at below 2.5 scoring rate during the opening overs, undergoing a early batting collapse, and ultimately making themselves overwhelming to accomplish.

But no matter what problems there are with their batting lineup, if they had accepted their catches in the fielding area, that 203-run objective would have been considerably less.

It needed them three efforts to break the 72-run stand second-wicket association, with keeper Nigar Sultana failing to grab a difficult chance behind the stumps to dismiss Hasini Perera on 23 runs before Athapaththu got a reprieve from a caught and bowled chance possibility against Rabeya.

Perera was spilled again on 55 runs and her score of 63, the latter chance traveling straight to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before ultimately being given out lbw by Shorna Akter as she tried to increase the tempo with batting partners falling around her.

Later in the game, there was additionally a stumping chance missed and a missed run-out, even though the run-out chance was a slightly regrettable, with Rubya Haider substituting with the wicketkeeping gloves due to an fitness issue to the regular keeper.

Regrettably for the team, such fielding issues are not at all a one-off. They've failed to catch 14 chances from a possible 27 at this competition and boast the poorest fielding effectiveness (48.1%) of the participating teams.

They are a squad who are typically heading in the right direction – they are participating in just their second ODI World Cup after all – but substandard fielding performance is a obvious problem which requires improvement.