Sri Lanka beats the Bangladeshi side to keep their tournament hopes breathing

ICC Women's World Cup, Mumbai

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

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

Sri Lanka emerge victorious by seven runs margin

Sri Lanka secured four wickets in the decisive over to seal a nail-biting victory over their opponents and preserve their slim aspirations of making it for the tournament knockout stage ongoing.

Chasing a below-par score of 203 on a good batting surface in the Mumbai stadium, the Bangladeshi team needed nine more runs from the final six deliveries.

Nevertheless, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu took three important dismissals in four balls and de Silva ran out Nahida to achieve a dramatic success for Sri Lanka.

The triumph – the Lankan team's initial of the tournament after three losses and two washed-out matches against Australia and the Kiwi side – moves them level on four match points with the Indian team and New Zealand, who confront each other on Thursday.

Bangladesh, in contrast, experienced a fifth straight defeat since winning their tournament opener against Pakistan and have been removed from contention.

Even though Bangladesh got off to the ideal beginning, with Marufa taking a wicket with the first delivery of the game to remove Gunaratne, they were rightfully made to pay for a subpar fielding display.

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

Even though Athapaththu could not capitalise, sent back lbw for 46 one ball after being put down by Rabeya, Perera made Bangladesh pay.

She achieved a first international 50-run score, accumulating 85 from 99 bowls and contributing to an important 74-run partnership fifth-wicket association with De Silva.

Bangladesh, guided by Shorna's 3-27, dragged themselves back in the contest, with De Silva's dismissal in the 34th bowling segment triggering a Sri Lanka collapse from 174 for four to 202 complete.

In reply, Sri Lanka's opening bowlers Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani contained Bangladesh to 23 with one wicket down in a uninspiring powerplay and they were subsequently brought down to 44 with three wickets lost.

Sharmin Akter and Nigar Sultana Joty rebuilt their score, putting on 82 runs for the fourth wicket before Sharmin withdrew due to injury for a determined 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was in favor of Bangladesh entering the remaining two innings segments, with just 12 runs needed.

Yet, Dasanayaka sent back Ritu Moni and gave away only three runs before the captain's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa all dismissed as Sri Lanka snatched the victory at the final moment.

Ultimately, it was a contest of nerves. The highly experienced Athapaththu, who ushered away a several of teammates as she set herself to deliver the decisive over, kept her nerve. The opposition could not.

There will be many inquiries about the team's batting effort. They could easily have been pursuing 270 to 280 with Sri Lanka looking comfortable on 159-4 in the 30th bowling phase, but instead the target was considerably smaller.

However, Bangladesh displayed insufficient purpose from the very beginning, accumulating runs at less than 2.5 runs each over during the initial phase, undergoing a initial wicket loss, and ultimately making themselves too much to do.

But whatever problems there are with their batting, if they had taken their catches in the fielding area, that 203 total goal would have been considerably lower.

It took them three tries to terminate the 72-run stand second-wicket, with wicketkeeper Nigar Sultana being unable to hold a challenging catch as wicketkeeper to dismiss Hasini Perera on 23 before Athapaththu was spared from a caught and bowled chance opportunity against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was dropped again on her score of 55 and 63 runs, the final opportunity going straight to Jhilik at cover position, before finally being trapped leg before wicket by Shorna as she sought to increase the tempo with batting partners being dismissed beside her.

Later in the innings, there was also a missed stumping and a failed run-out, even though the second one was a little unfortunate, with Rubya Haider standing in with the gloves due to an fitness issue to the regular keeper.

Sadly for Bangladesh, such fielding woes are not at all a one-off. They've failed to catch 14 catches from a possible 27 at this competition and display the lowest catching success rate (less than 50%) of the competing sides.

They are a team who are typically progressing in the correct path – they are competing in merely their second 50-over World Cup after all – but inadequate fielding standards is a obvious problem which requires focus.