The Lankan team beats the Bangladeshi side to maintain their tournament hopes alive

Women's Cricket 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); Athapaththu 4-42

Sri Lanka emerge victorious by seven runs margin

Sri Lanka claimed four crucial dismissals in the decisive innings segment to achieve a nail-biting victory over their opponents and maintain their narrow chances of making it for the World Cup semi-finals intact.

Chasing a modest score of 203 on a good batting surface in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh required nine runs from the remaining six balls.

However, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu claimed three important dismissals in four balls and Nilakshi de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to achieve a dramatic success for the Lankan team.

The victory – the Lankan team's maiden of the competition after three unsuccessful matches and two no-results against the Australian team and the Kiwi side – moves them equal on four tournament points with the Indian team and New Zealand, who meet each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, however, suffered a fifth straight loss since winning their initial game against Pakistan and have been eliminated.

Although Bangladesh made the excellent commencement, with Marufa Akter striking with the first delivery of the game to remove Gunaratne, they were rightfully punished for a disappointing fielding display.

They provided reprieves to Perera, who was spilled on three occasions, and Athapaththu.

While Athapaththu failed to take advantage, removed leg before wicket for 46 one ball after being dropped by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera forced Bangladesh regret it.

She registered a debut international 50-run score, scoring 85 from 99 deliveries and contributing to an significant 74-run stand fifth-wicket with Nilakshi de Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, guided by Shorna Akter's three wickets for 27 runs, pulled themselves back in the match, with Nilakshi's removal in the 34th bowling segment causing a Lankan batting collapse from 174 with four wickets down to 202 complete.

While batting second, Sri Lanka's starting bowlers Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani contained the opposition to 23-1 in a uninspiring powerplay and they were subsequently brought down to 44 for three.

Sharmin Akter and Nigar Sultana Joty reconstructed their score, adding 82 runs for the fourth wicket stand before the batter left the field injured for a stubborn 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was in favor of Bangladesh entering the last two overs, with only 12 runs needed.

Yet, Sugandika Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu and conceded merely three scoring runs before the captain's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa all dismissed as the Lankan team seized the win at the very end.

Finally, it was a match of nerve. The highly experienced Athapaththu, who moved aside a several of fellow players as she prepared to deliver the decisive over, kept her composure. The opposition did not.

There will be plenty of inquiries about the team's batting performance. They could easily have been pursuing around 270-280 with Sri Lanka seeming settled on 159 for four in the 30th bowling phase, but instead the chase was significantly less.

Yet, Bangladesh showed little intent from the very beginning, scoring at below 2.5 scoring rate during the powerplay, experiencing a top-order collapse, and finally forcing themselves overwhelming to accomplish.

But whatever issues there are with their batting lineup, if they had seized their catches in the field, that 203-run target would have been significantly less.

It took them three efforts to end the 72-run second-wicket, with keeper Nigar Sultana failing to take a tough chance as wicketkeeper to dismiss Perera on 23 before Athapaththu survived from a caught and bowled chance opportunity against Rabeya Khan.

The batter was missed again on her score of 55 and 63 runs, the final opportunity going directly to Jhilik at cover field, before ultimately being given out lbw by Shorna as she attempted to increase the tempo with teammates falling near her.

Later in the batting effort, there was also a failed stumping and a failed run-out, even though the run-out chance was a slightly unfortunate, with Rubya Haider standing in with the wicketkeeping gloves due to an fitness issue to Joty.

Sadly for the team, such fielding woes are far from a one-off. They've missed 14 opportunities from a possible 27 opportunities at this World Cup and display the poorest catching success rate (48.1%) of the competing sides.

They are a team who are generally moving in the correct path – they are playing in merely their second 50-over World Cup in the end – but substandard fielding performance is a prominent concern which demands improvement.