The Lankan team beats Bangladesh to keep their campaign breathing

ICC Women's World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

Sri Lanka win by seven runs

The Lankan cricket team took four crucial dismissals in the final over to achieve a heart-stopping victory over Bangladesh and preserve their faint chances of making it for the tournament knockout stage ongoing.

Pursuing a modest target of 203 on a favorable wicket in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh wanted nine additional runs from the final six bowls.

Yet, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu claimed three crucial wickets in four bowls and de Silva ran out Nahida to bring about a dramatic victory for Sri Lanka.

The win – Sri Lanka's initial of the tournament after three defeats and two abandoned games against Australia and the Kiwi side – pushes them equal on four points with the Indian team and the New Zealand side, who confront each other on the coming Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, in contrast, endured a fifth straight loss since securing victory in their initial game against the Pakistani team and have been eliminated.

Even though Bangladesh made the excellent commencement, with Marufa striking with the first delivery of the game to send back Vishmi Gunaratne, they were deservedly punished for a subpar fielding effort.

They provided reprieves to Perera, who was dropped three times, and the Lankan captain.

Even though Athapaththu could not capitalise, removed leg before wicket for 46 one ball after being put down by Rabeya Khan, Perera forced the opposition pay.

She achieved a debut international fifty, accumulating 85 from 99 balls and building an crucial 74-run fifth-wicket with De Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, spearheaded by Shorna Akter's three wickets for 27 runs, dragged themselves back into the match, with Nilakshi's wicket in the 34th over initiating a Lankan batting collapse from 174 with four wickets down to 202 total.

During their chase, the Lankan team's starting bowlers Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani limited Bangladesh to 23 with one wicket down in a disappointing opening overs and they were afterwards brought down to 44 with three wickets lost.

Sharmin and Joty rebuilt their score, putting on an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket before Sharmin withdrew due to injury for a resolute 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was in favor of the chasing team entering the remaining two overs, with just 12 additional runs required.

Nevertheless, Dasanayaka sent back Ritu and gave away only three runs before Athapaththu's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa Akter all sent back as Sri Lanka seized the win at the very end.

Finally, it was a contest of nerve. The seasoned Athapaththu, who ushered away a several of teammates as she set herself to deliver the decisive over, kept hers. The opposition failed to.

There will be numerous questions about the team's batting effort. They possibly have been needing 270 or 280 with the Lankan team seeming comfortable on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th innings segment, but in contrast the target was much lower.

However, Bangladesh showed little purpose from the start, scoring at below 2.5 runs per over during the initial phase, undergoing a early batting collapse, and ultimately forcing themselves overwhelming to do.

But whatever problems there are with their batting approach, if they had accepted their opportunities in the fielding department, that 203 total goal would have been considerably smaller.

It required them three tries to end the 72-run second-wicket association, with wicketkeeper Joty being unable to take a tough catch behind the stumps to dismiss Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu survived from a return catch possibility against Rabeya.

The batter was dropped further on 55 and her score of 63, the latter chance going straight to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover position, before eventually being given out leg before wicket by Shorna as she tried to up the ante with batting partners getting out near her.

Afterwards in the game, there was furthermore a missed stumping and a run-out opportunity lost, although the second one was a slightly unfortunate, with Rubya Haider substituting with the wicketkeeping gloves after an injury to Joty.

Regrettably for the team, such fielding issues are not at all a isolated incident. They've failed to catch 14 opportunities from a potential 27 opportunities at this competition and boast the worst catching success rate (48.1 percent) of the eight teams.

They are a team who are typically heading in the correct path – they are competing in merely their second one-day World Cup after all – but inadequate fielding is a glaring issue which needs focus.