The Lankan team defeats the Bangladeshi side to maintain their World Cup tournament hopes breathing

ICC Women's World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side win by seven runs margin

The Lankan cricket team took four crucial dismissals in the last over to seal a nail-biting victory over their opponents and maintain their faint chances of qualifying for the tournament knockout stage ongoing.

Chasing a attainable target of 203 on a favorable wicket in the Mumbai stadium, the Bangladeshi team needed nine runs from the last six bowls.

However, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu claimed three wickets in four deliveries and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to achieve a exciting success for the Lankan team.

The triumph – the Lankan team's first of the tournament after three defeats and two abandoned games against the Australian team and New Zealand – elevates them tied on four match points with the Indian team and the New Zealand side, who face each other on the coming Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, however, suffered a fifth consecutive defeat since securing victory in their tournament opener against Pakistan and have been eliminated.

Even though the Bangladeshi side got off to the excellent commencement, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the initial ball of the encounter to send back Vishmi Gunaratne, they were appropriately punished for a subpar fielding effort.

They offered lifelines to Perera, who was dropped multiple times, and the Lankan captain.

While the Sri Lankan skipper was unable to make it count, dismissed lbw for 46 one ball after being dropped by Rabeya, Hasini Perera made Bangladesh suffer.

She achieved a debut international 50-run score, accumulating 85 from 99 balls and building an significant 74-run partnership fifth-wicket with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, guided by Shorna's impressive bowling figures, pulled themselves back into the match, with Nilakshi's removal in the 34th over triggering a Sri Lanka downfall from 174 for four to 202 all out.

In reply, the Lankan team's starting bowlers Madara and Prabodhani limited the opposition to 23 for one in a uninspiring powerplay and they were subsequently reduced to 44 with three wickets lost.

Sharmin Akter and Joty reconstructed their score, adding 82 runs for the fourth wicket collaboration before the batter withdrew due to injury for a stubborn 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was in favor of the chasing team approaching the final two innings segments, with only 12 runs required.

Yet, Dasanayaka removed Ritu and gave away only three runs before the captain's decisive intervention, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all sent back as the Lankan team snatched the victory at the death.

Finally, it was a game of composure. The highly experienced Lankan captain, who directed away a several of teammates as she set herself to bowl the last over, kept her composure. The opposition failed to.

There will be numerous inquiries about Bangladesh's batting performance. They could easily have been chasing around 270-280 with the Lankan team looking at ease on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th innings segment, but in contrast the chase was significantly less.

Yet, Bangladesh lacked intent from the start, scoring at under 2.5 scoring rate during the powerplay, experiencing a top-order collapse, and finally making themselves excessive to do.

But no matter what issues there are with their batting approach, if they had seized their opportunities in the field, that 203-run target objective would have been significantly smaller.

It took them three efforts to break the 72-run second-wicket collaboration, with keeper Nigar Sultana not managing to take a challenging opportunity while keeping to dismiss Hasini Perera on 23 runs before Athapaththu got a reprieve from a return catch opportunity against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was spilled once more on 55 and 63, the latter chance flying right to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover field, before eventually being given out leg before wicket by Shorna as she sought to up the ante with teammates being dismissed around her.

Afterwards in the batting effort, there was additionally a missed stumping and a failed run-out, even though the run-out chance was a little unlucky, with Rubya Haider standing in with the gloves after an injury to Joty.

Regrettably for Bangladesh, such fielding issues are not at all a single occurrence. They've missed 14 opportunities from a potential 27 opportunities at this World Cup and have the poorest catching success rate (less than 50%) of the competing sides.

They are a squad who are generally moving in the proper way – they are playing in merely their second 50-over World Cup in the end – but inadequate fielding is a glaring problem which demands focus.