The Lankan team overcomes the Bangladeshi side to preserve their tournament hopes alive

ICC Women's World Cup, Mumbai

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

Bangladesh 195-9 (50 overs): Joty 77 (98); Chamari Athapaththu 4-42

The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs margin

The Lankan cricket team claimed four wickets in the decisive innings segment to achieve a heart-stopping victory over their opponents and preserve their slim hopes of making it for the World Cup semi-finals alive.

Needing a attainable total of 203 on a favorable wicket in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team wanted nine runs from the remaining six balls.

Yet, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu secured three crucial wickets in four deliveries and de Silva ran out Nahida Akter to secure a exciting success for the Lankan team.

The victory – Sri Lanka's first of the tournament after three defeats and two no-results against Australia and New Zealand – pushes them tied on four points with the Indian team and the New Zealand side, who confront each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, in contrast, endured a fifth consecutive setback since securing victory in their first match against the Pakistani team and have been knocked out.

While Bangladesh got off to the perfect start, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the opening bowl of the encounter to remove Gunaratne, they were appropriately made to pay for a disappointing fielding performance.

They offered second chances to Hasini Perera, who was dropped three times, and the Lankan captain.

Although Athapaththu failed to capitalise, removed leg before wicket for 46 a single bowl after being missed by Rabeya, Hasini Perera made the opposition regret it.

She achieved a first international fifty, scoring 85 from 99 balls and sharing an significant 74-run fifth-wicket collaboration with Nilakshi de Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, led by Shorna Akter's 3-27, pulled themselves back to the game, with De Silva's dismissal in the 34th innings segment triggering a Lankan collapse from 174 for four to 202 all out.

In reply, Sri Lanka's initial pace attack Madara and Prabodhani restricted Bangladesh to 23 for one in a lacklustre initial phase and they were later reduced to 44 for three.

Sharmin and Joty restored their innings, putting on an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket before the batter withdrew due to injury for a resolute 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was leaning toward the chasing team approaching the final two innings segments, with just 12 more runs necessary.

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

In the end, it was a game of nerve. The seasoned Athapaththu, who moved aside a few of fellow players as she set herself to bowl the final over, kept her nerve. Bangladesh failed to.

There will be numerous inquiries about Bangladesh's batting display. They might well have been needing 270 to 280 with the Lankan team seeming at ease on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th innings segment, but in contrast the chase was considerably smaller.

However, the batting side displayed insufficient intent from the very beginning, scoring at under 2.5 runs each over during the initial phase, suffering a initial wicket loss, and ultimately leaving themselves overwhelming to accomplish.

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

It needed them three tries to end the 72-run partnership second-wicket association, with wicketkeeper Nigar Sultana failing to take a tough chance as wicketkeeper to remove Hasini Perera on 23 before the captain got a reprieve from a caught and bowled possibility against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was missed further on 55 runs and 63, the latter chance traveling directly to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before finally being dismissed lbw by Shorna Akter as she tried to up the ante with batting partners getting out around her.

Later in the innings, there was furthermore a missed stumping and a failed run-out, while the second one was a little unlucky, with Rubya Haider substituting with the keeping duties due to an physical problem to Joty.

Regrettably for Bangladesh, such fielding problems are nowhere near a single occurrence. They've dropped 14 catches from a available 27 opportunities at this World Cup and boast the lowest catch efficiency (less than 50%) of the competing sides.

They are a team who are generally heading in the right direction – they are participating in merely their second 50-over World Cup ultimately – but poor fielding is a obvious concern which demands improvement.