The Lankan team defeats the Bangladeshi side to keep their World Cup tournament hopes ongoing

ICC Women's 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); Chamari Athapaththu 4-42

Sri Lanka emerge victorious by seven runs margin

Sri Lanka took four crucial dismissals in the decisive innings segment to complete a nail-biting win over Bangladesh and maintain their faint hopes of making it for the tournament knockout stage alive.

Pursuing a below-par total of 203 on a favorable wicket in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh required nine additional runs from the last six deliveries.

However, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu secured three wickets in four deliveries and Nilakshi de Silva ran out Nahida Akter to achieve a dramatic victory for the Lankan team.

The victory – Sri Lanka's initial of the World Cup after three defeats and two washed-out matches against the Australian team and the Kiwi side – elevates them equal on four match points with India and the New Zealand side, who meet each other on Thursday.

Bangladesh, however, endured a fifth successive loss since securing victory in their tournament opener against the Pakistani team and have been removed from contention.

Although Bangladesh made the perfect start, with Marufa striking with the first delivery of the game to remove Vishmi Gunaratne, they were rightfully punished for a poor fielding display.

They provided second chances to Perera, who was spilled multiple times, and Athapaththu.

Although Athapaththu failed to make it count, dismissed leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being dropped by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera forced Bangladesh suffer.

She scored a first international half-century, making 85 from 99 deliveries and contributing to an important 74-run stand fifth-wicket with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, led by Shorna's 3-27, dragged themselves back in the game, with De Silva's wicket in the 34th over initiating a Sri Lanka collapse from 174-4 to 202 total.

During their chase, Sri Lanka's opening bowlers Madara and Prabodhani contained the opposition to 23 for one in a uninspiring powerplay and they were afterwards diminished to 44 for three.

Sharmin Akter and Joty reconstructed their innings, contributing 82 runs for the fourth wicket stand before Sharmin retired hurt for a determined 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was advantage the chasing team approaching the remaining two innings segments, with just 12 runs needed.

Nevertheless, Sugandika Dasanayaka removed Ritu and allowed just three runs before Athapaththu's dramatic spell, with Rabeya, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa Akter all removed as the Lankan team seized the victory at the death.

In the end, it was a match of nerves. The highly experienced Athapaththu, who directed away a several of team-mates as she got ready to bowl the decisive over, maintained hers. The opposition did not.

There will be many questions about the team's batting effort. They could easily have been pursuing 270 to 280 with Sri Lanka looking at ease on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th innings segment, but in contrast the target was much lower.

Yet, Bangladesh showed little aggression from the start, scoring at less than 2.5 runs per over during the initial phase, experiencing a initial wicket loss, and ultimately making themselves too much to achieve.

But whatever difficulties there are with their batting approach, if they had taken their chances in the field, that 203-run target target would have been significantly lower.

It took them three efforts to end the 72-run stand second-wicket association, with wicketkeeper Joty not managing to hold a challenging chance as wicketkeeper to send back Perera on her score of 23 before the captain got a reprieve from a caught and bowled possibility against Rabeya.

Perera was missed again on 55 and 63 runs, the latter chance going right to Jhilik at cover, before eventually being trapped leg before wicket by Shorna Akter as she tried to accelerate the scoring with partners getting out beside her.

Subsequently in the game, there was furthermore a failed stumping and a missed run-out, even though the run-out chance was a little regrettable, with Rubya Haider standing in with the wicketkeeping gloves due to an fitness issue to the regular keeper.

Sadly for Bangladesh, such fielding woes are not at all a one-off. They've failed to catch 14 chances from a available 27 chances at this World Cup and have the lowest fielding effectiveness (less than 50%) of the competing sides.

They are a team who are overall progressing in the correct path – they are participating in only their second ODI World Cup in the end – but inadequate fielding standards is a glaring problem which needs focus.