Sri Lanka beats the Bangladeshi side to keep their World Cup tournament hopes alive

ICC Women's World Cup, Mumbai

Sri Lanka 202 (48.4 overs): Perera 85 (99); Shorna 3-27

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

Sri Lanka win by seven runs

Sri Lanka secured four crucial dismissals in the decisive innings segment to achieve a thrilling triumph over their opponents and preserve their slim aspirations of making it for the World Cup semi-finals ongoing.

Pursuing a modest total of 203 on a favorable wicket in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh needed nine more runs from the last six bowls.

However, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu secured three crucial wickets in four deliveries and de Silva ran out Nahida Akter to bring about a exciting success for Sri Lanka.

The triumph – the Lankan team's maiden of the competition after three defeats and two abandoned games against the Australian team and New Zealand – moves them level on four points with the Indian team and the New Zealand side, who confront each other on the coming Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, on the other hand, suffered a fifth consecutive loss since winning their first match against Pakistan and have been removed from contention.

Although the Bangladeshi side got off to the perfect start, with Marufa taking a wicket with the initial ball of the match to remove Vishmi Gunaratne, they were appropriately penalized for a poor fielding display.

They gifted second chances to Perera, who was dropped on three occasions, and Athapaththu.

While Athapaththu failed to make it count, sent back leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being put down by Rabeya, Hasini Perera made the opposition pay.

She achieved a first international half-century, scoring 85 from 99 balls and building an crucial 74-run fifth-wicket with De Silva.

Bangladesh, led by Shorna Akter's impressive bowling figures, dragged themselves back in the contest, with De Silva's wicket in the 34th bowling segment causing a Sri Lanka batting collapse from 174 with four wickets down to 202 total.

While batting second, the Lankan team's starting bowlers Madara and Prabodhani contained Bangladesh to 23 for one in a lacklustre opening overs and they were afterwards diminished to 44 for three.

Sharmin and Joty restored their batting effort, contributing 82 for the fourth wicket before the batter retired hurt for a determined 64 in the 36th over.

It was advantage Bangladesh heading into the final two innings segments, with merely 12 additional runs needed.

Yet, Sugandika Dasanayaka removed Ritu Moni and allowed merely three runs before Athapaththu's dramatic spell, with Rabeya, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all removed as Sri Lanka snatched the triumph at the very end.

In the end, it was a match of composure. The seasoned Lankan captain, who ushered away a several of fellow players as she set herself to deliver the decisive over, maintained hers. The opposition could not.

There will be many inquiries about the team's batting performance. They possibly have been chasing 270 or 280 with the Lankan team looking comfortable on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th over, but in contrast the required total was much lower.

However, Bangladesh displayed insufficient aggression from ball one, scoring at less than 2.5 runs per over during the powerplay, experiencing a initial wicket loss, and finally forcing themselves excessive to accomplish.

But whatever difficulties there are with their batting approach, if they had seized their chances in the fielding department, that 203-run target objective would have been significantly smaller.

It required them three attempts to terminate the 72-run second-wicket, with keeper Nigar Sultana not managing to hold a challenging catch while keeping to send back Perera on 23 before Athapaththu was spared from a caught and bowled chance against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was missed once more on 55 runs and 63 runs, the last attempt traveling straight to Jhilik at cover, before ultimately being trapped leg before wicket by Shorna Akter as she tried to increase the tempo with batting partners being dismissed beside her.

Afterwards in the innings, there was also a missed stumping and a failed run-out, even though the latter was a somewhat unlucky, with Rubya Haider deputising with the gloves after an fitness issue to the regular keeper.

Sadly for the team, such fielding woes are far from a one-off. They've dropped 14 catches from a possible 27 at this competition and have the worst catch efficiency (48.1 percent) of the competing sides.

They are a side who are overall moving in the correct path – they are competing in merely their second ODI World Cup ultimately – but substandard fielding standards is a obvious concern which requires improvement.