Sri Lanka overcomes the Bangladeshi side to preserve their World Cup campaign alive

Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai

The Lankan team 202 (48.4 overs): Hasini Perera 85 (99); Shorna 3-27

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

Sri Lanka win by seven runs

The Lankan cricket team secured four crucial dismissals in the last over to seal a thrilling victory over their opponents and keep their slim chances of making it for the World Cup semi-finals intact.

Needing a attainable total of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh needed nine more runs from the remaining six deliveries.

Nevertheless, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu took three wickets in four deliveries and de Silva ran out Nahida Akter to bring about a thrilling win for the Lankan team.

The victory – the Lankan team's first of the World Cup after three unsuccessful matches and two abandoned games against Australia and the Kiwi side – pushes them level on four points with the Indian team and the New Zealand side, who face each other on the coming Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, however, experienced a fifth consecutive loss since securing victory in their initial game against Pakistan and have been knocked out.

While Bangladesh got off to the perfect start, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the opening bowl of the game to remove Gunaratne, they were deservedly punished for a disappointing fielding display.

They provided second chances to Hasini Perera, who was missed multiple times, and Athapaththu.

Even though the Sri Lankan skipper could not make it count, removed leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being put down by Rabeya Khan, Perera forced Bangladesh suffer.

She achieved a first international fifty, making 85 from 99 bowls and sharing an important 74-run partnership fifth-wicket with De Silva.

Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna Akter's 3-27, dragged themselves back to the game, with Nilakshi's removal in the 34th bowling segment initiating a Lankan batting collapse from 174 with four wickets down to 202 total.

While batting second, the Lankan team's opening bowlers Malki Madara and Prabodhani contained Bangladesh to 23 for one in a uninspiring opening overs and they were afterwards brought down to 44-3.

Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty rebuilt their innings, contributing 82 for the fourth wicket before the batter withdrew due to injury for a stubborn 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was leaning toward Bangladesh entering the remaining two innings segments, with merely 12 additional runs needed.

Nevertheless, Dasanayaka sent back Ritu and allowed only three scoring runs before the captain's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa all removed as the Lankan team snatched the victory at the very end.

Finally, it was a game of nerves. The very experienced Athapaththu, who moved aside a handful of teammates as she set herself to deliver the last over, maintained hers. The opposition could not.

There will be many inquiries about Bangladesh's batting effort. They possibly have been needing 270 or 280 with Sri Lanka seeming settled on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th bowling phase, but rather the target was significantly less.

Nevertheless, the batting side displayed insufficient intent from the very beginning, making runs at below 2.5 runs per over during the powerplay, undergoing a initial wicket loss, and ultimately forcing themselves excessive to achieve.

But no matter what issues there are with their batting, if they had accepted their catches in the fielding area, that 203-run target target would have been considerably less.

It took them three efforts to end the 72-run partnership second-wicket, with wicketkeeper Nigar Sultana being unable to hold a difficult catch as wicketkeeper to dismiss Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu was spared from a caught and bowled chance possibility against Rabeya.

Perera was missed again on her score of 55 and 63 runs, the final opportunity traveling straight to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover position, before eventually being given out leg before wicket by Shorna as she sought to up the ante with batting partners being dismissed around her.

Later in the game, there was furthermore a missed stumping and a run-out opportunity lost, although the second one was a slightly unfortunate, with Rubya Haider standing in with the gloves following an physical problem to Joty.

Regrettably for the team, such fielding woes are nowhere near a one-off. They've dropped 14 chances from a available 27 at this World Cup and display the worst fielding effectiveness (48.1 percent) of the participating teams.

They are a squad who are overall progressing in the proper way – they are playing in just their second ODI World Cup in the end – but substandard fielding is a prominent concern which requires improvement.