The Lankan team overcomes Bangladesh to preserve their campaign ongoing

ICC Women's World Cup, Navi Mumbai

The Lankan team 202 (48.4 overs): Hasini Perera 85 (99); Shorna Akter 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 claimed four crucial dismissals in the decisive innings segment to seal a thrilling triumph over Bangladesh and preserve their slim aspirations of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals ongoing.

Needing a below-par score of 203 on a favorable wicket in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh required nine additional runs from the last six deliveries.

Nevertheless, Lankan skipper Athapaththu took three important dismissals in four deliveries and Nilakshi de Silva ran out Nahida Akter to secure a thrilling win for Sri Lanka.

The win – the Lankan team's first of the tournament after three unsuccessful matches and two abandoned games against the Australian team and New Zealand – elevates them equal on four points with India and New Zealand, who confront each other on the coming Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, however, endured a fifth straight loss since securing victory in their first match against Pakistan and have been eliminated.

While the Bangladeshi side got off to the perfect start, with Marufa Akter striking with the first delivery of the match to remove Vishmi Gunaratne, they were rightfully punished for a subpar fielding performance.

They gifted reprieves to Hasini Perera, who was dropped on three occasions, and the Lankan captain.

While the Sri Lankan skipper failed to take advantage, dismissed lbw for 46 just one delivery after being dropped by Rabeya, Hasini Perera forced the opposition pay.

She scored a debut international 50-run score, accumulating 85 from 99 deliveries and contributing to an crucial 74-run stand fifth-wicket association with Nilakshi de Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, guided by Shorna Akter's 3-27, dragged themselves back in the game, with Nilakshi's dismissal in the 34th bowling segment causing a Sri Lanka collapse from 174-4 to 202 complete.

While batting second, Sri Lanka's opening bowlers Malki Madara and Prabodhani contained the opposition to 23 with one wicket down in a lacklustre initial phase and they were subsequently reduced to 44 with three wickets lost.

Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty reconstructed their score, adding 82 for the fourth wicket collaboration before the batter withdrew due to injury for a resolute 64 in the 36th over.

It was advantage Bangladesh approaching the last two innings segments, with merely 12 runs required.

Nevertheless, Sugandika Dasanayaka removed Ritu Moni and conceded merely three scoring runs before the captain's dramatic spell, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa all sent back as the Lankan team snatched the victory at the death.

In the end, it was a match of nerve. The seasoned Athapaththu, who directed away a handful of team-mates as she prepared to bowl the final over, maintained hers. The opposition failed to.

There will be numerous doubts about Bangladesh's batting performance. They might well have been pursuing 270 to 280 with the Lankan team appearing settled on 159-4 in the 30th over, but rather the target was much lower.

However, the batting side lacked intent from the start, accumulating runs at below 2.5 runs per over during the powerplay, experiencing a top-order collapse, and finally forcing themselves excessive to do.

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

It took them three tries to terminate the 72-run partnership second-wicket, with keeper Joty not managing to grab a difficult opportunity while keeping to remove Hasini Perera on 23 before the captain was spared from a caught and bowled possibility against Rabeya Khan.

The batter was spilled once more on 55 and her score of 63, the latter chance going directly to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover position, before finally being given out lbw by Shorna as she tried to increase the tempo with batting partners being dismissed beside her.

Afterwards in the game, there was also a missed stumping and a failed run-out, even though the run-out chance was a little unlucky, with Jhilik substituting with the gloves after an injury to the regular keeper.

Regrettably for Bangladesh, such fielding issues are far from a isolated incident. They've missed 14 chances from a potential 27 at this World Cup and display the worst catching success rate (48.1%) of the eight teams.

They are a side who are typically progressing in the proper way – they are competing in merely their second ODI World Cup in the end – but substandard fielding is a obvious issue which needs focus.