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

ICC Women's World Cup, Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs margin

Sri Lanka took four crucial dismissals in the last over to seal a thrilling triumph over Bangladesh and maintain their narrow hopes of making it for the World Cup semi-finals alive.

Pursuing a below-par target of 203 on a favorable wicket in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh needed nine more runs from the final six deliveries.

Nevertheless, Lankan skipper Athapaththu took three crucial wickets in four balls and de Silva ran out Nahida to achieve a dramatic win for Sri Lanka.

The win – the Lankan team's maiden of the tournament after three unsuccessful matches and two abandoned games against Australia and New Zealand – pushes them tied on four points with the Indian team and New Zealand, who confront each other on Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, in contrast, suffered a fifth successive setback since securing victory in their initial game against the Pakistani team and have been knocked out.

Although Bangladesh made the ideal beginning, with Marufa taking a wicket with the opening bowl of the game to remove Vishmi Gunaratne, they were deservedly punished for a poor fielding display.

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

Even though Athapaththu could not make it count, removed leg before wicket for 46 a single bowl after being missed by Rabeya Khan, Perera made Bangladesh pay.

She scored a first international half-century, making 85 from 99 deliveries and building an significant 74-run fifth-wicket with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, guided by Shorna Akter's three wickets for 27 runs, fought themselves back in the match, with Nilakshi's dismissal in the 34th innings segment initiating a Lankan downfall from 174 for four to 202 all out.

In reply, Sri Lanka's initial pace attack Malki Madara and Prabodhani contained the opposition to 23 with one wicket down in a lacklustre opening overs and they were subsequently reduced to 44-3.

Sharmin Akter and Joty rebuilt their innings, putting on 82 for the fourth wicket collaboration before the batter left the field injured for a stubborn 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was in favor of the chasing team heading into the final two overs, with only 12 more runs necessary.

Yet, Sugandika Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu Moni and gave away only three scoring runs before the captain's decisive intervention, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa Akter all sent back as the Lankan team grabbed the win at the very end.

In the end, it was a game of nerve. The seasoned Athapaththu, who moved aside a handful of teammates as she set herself to bowl the final over, held her composure. The opposition did not.

There will be many doubts about the team's batting performance. They could easily have been chasing 270 or 280 with the Lankan team looking at ease on 159 for four in the 30th bowling phase, but rather the target was considerably smaller.

Nevertheless, the batting side showed little aggression from ball one, scoring at below 2.5 runs each over during the initial phase, experiencing a initial wicket loss, and ultimately leaving themselves excessive to accomplish.

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

It required them three attempts to end the 72-run second-wicket association, with keeper Nigar Sultana not managing to grab a difficult chance while keeping to remove Hasini Perera on 23 runs before Athapaththu was spared from a return catch opportunity against Rabeya.

The batter was dropped once more on 55 and her score of 63, the final opportunity flying straight to Jhilik at cover field, before eventually being dismissed lbw by Shorna as she attempted to increase the tempo with teammates getting out near her.

Afterwards in the innings, there was additionally a missed stumping and a run-out opportunity lost, although the latter was a slightly unlucky, with Jhilik deputising with the wicketkeeping gloves after an injury to Joty.

Sadly for the team, such fielding problems are far from a one-off. They've dropped 14 chances from a potential 27 chances at this World Cup and display the poorest fielding effectiveness (less than 50%) of the competing sides.

They are a squad who are typically progressing in the right direction – they are playing in only their second one-day World Cup after all – but poor fielding standards is a obvious concern which requires focus.