The Lankan team beats the Bangladeshi side to keep their World Cup tournament hopes ongoing

ICC Women's World Cup, Mumbai

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

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

Sri Lanka win by seven runs margin

The Lankan cricket team secured four wickets in the decisive over to complete a heart-stopping win over Bangladesh and keep their slim chances of qualifying for the tournament knockout stage ongoing.

Needing a attainable total of 203 on a favorable wicket in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team required nine runs from the final six balls.

Yet, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu took three wickets in four deliveries and de Silva ran out Nahida to secure a exciting success for the Lankan team.

The win – Sri Lanka's maiden of the World Cup after three defeats and two abandoned games against the Australian team and New Zealand – pushes them equal on four points with the Indian team and New Zealand, who meet each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, however, endured a fifth consecutive loss since winning their initial game against Pakistan and have been removed from contention.

While Bangladesh made the perfect start, with Marufa Akter striking with the initial ball of the game to dismiss Gunaratne, they were deservedly penalized for a disappointing fielding effort.

They gifted reprieves to Hasini Perera, who was dropped multiple times, and the Lankan captain.

While the Sri Lankan skipper could not take advantage, removed leg before wicket for 46 one ball after being put down by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera made Bangladesh suffer.

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

The Bangladeshi team, guided by Shorna's 3-27, pulled themselves back into the contest, with De Silva's wicket in the 34th bowling segment initiating a Sri Lanka collapse from 174 with four wickets down to 202 complete.

During their chase, the Lankan team's starting bowlers Malki Madara and Prabodhani limited Bangladesh to 23 with one wicket down in a lacklustre initial phase and they were later reduced to 44 with three wickets lost.

Sharmin and Joty restored their batting effort, putting on an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket stand before Sharmin withdrew due to injury for a resolute 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was advantage the chasing team approaching the last two innings segments, with only 12 additional runs necessary.

However, Dasanayaka removed Ritu and allowed merely three scoring runs before Athapaththu's dramatic spell, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa all dismissed as Sri Lanka grabbed the triumph at the death.

Finally, it was a contest of nerves. The highly experienced Lankan captain, who moved aside a handful of team-mates as she set herself to bowl the final over, kept her nerve. Bangladesh failed to.

There will be many inquiries about Bangladesh's batting performance. They might well have been needing 270 or 280 with the Lankan team seeming comfortable on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th innings segment, but instead the required total was much lower.

However, the batting side showed little purpose from the start, accumulating runs at less than 2.5 scoring rate during the powerplay, undergoing a top-order collapse, and finally forcing themselves overwhelming to achieve.

But whatever difficulties there are with their batting lineup, if they had accepted their opportunities in the field, that 203-run target target would have been substantially less.

It took them three tries to terminate the 72-run stand second-wicket association, with wicketkeeper Nigar Sultana failing to take a challenging catch as wicketkeeper to send back Perera on 23 before Athapaththu was spared from a caught and bowled chance chance against Rabeya Khan.

The batter was dropped once more on her score of 55 and 63 runs, the final opportunity going straight to Jhilik at cover position, before eventually being dismissed leg before wicket by Shorna as she attempted to up the ante with teammates getting out near her.

Subsequently in the game, there was also a failed stumping and a run-out opportunity lost, while the latter was a slightly unlucky, with Rubya Haider standing in with the gloves following an fitness issue to the regular keeper.

Sadly for the team, such fielding problems are nowhere near a isolated incident. They've dropped 14 opportunities from a available 27 at this World Cup and have the lowest catching success rate (less than 50%) of the participating teams.

They are a squad who are generally heading in the correct path – they are participating in merely their second 50-over World Cup ultimately – but inadequate fielding performance is a prominent issue which requires attention.