Sri Lanka defeats the Bangladeshi side to preserve their tournament hopes alive

ICC Women's World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

Sri Lanka emerge victorious by seven runs margin

Sri Lanka secured four crucial dismissals in the decisive over to complete a heart-stopping victory over their opponents and maintain their slim aspirations of making it for the tournament knockout stage intact.

Needing a attainable target of 203 on a favorable wicket in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team needed nine runs from the remaining six deliveries.

Yet, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu took three crucial wickets in four deliveries and Nilakshi de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to secure a thrilling win for Sri Lanka.

The win – the Lankan team's initial of the competition after three losses and two washed-out matches against Australia and New Zealand – pushes them tied on four tournament points with India and New Zealand, who face each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, in contrast, suffered a fifth straight defeat since winning their tournament opener against the Pakistani team and have been removed from contention.

Even though the Bangladeshi side made the perfect start, with Marufa striking with the initial ball of the match to dismiss Gunaratne, they were deservedly penalized for a poor fielding display.

They provided lifelines to Perera, who was spilled three times, and Athapaththu.

Even though Athapaththu was unable to capitalise, removed leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being put down by Rabeya, Perera forced Bangladesh pay.

She scored a maiden international 50-run score, accumulating 85 from 99 bowls and building an crucial 74-run fifth-wicket with De Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, led by Shorna Akter's three wickets for 27 runs, pulled themselves back to the contest, with De Silva's wicket in the 34th innings segment triggering a Sri Lanka collapse from 174 with four wickets down to 202 complete.

In reply, the Lankan team's starting bowlers Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani limited the opposition to 23 with one wicket down in a lacklustre powerplay and they were subsequently brought down to 44 for three.

Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty reconstructed their innings, adding an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket before Sharmin retired hurt for a stubborn 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was in favor of the chasing team entering the final two innings segments, with only 12 more runs required.

Yet, Sugandika Dasanayaka sent back Ritu Moni and allowed only three scoring runs before Athapaththu's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa all dismissed as the Lankan team grabbed the triumph at the death.

Ultimately, it was a contest of composure. The very experienced Athapaththu, who directed away a several of teammates as she set herself to deliver the decisive over, kept hers. The opposition failed to.

There will be many inquiries about Bangladesh's batting performance. They might well have been chasing around 270-280 with Sri Lanka looking settled on 159-4 in the 30th bowling phase, but instead the required total was much lower.

Yet, the batting side lacked aggression from the start, making runs at below 2.5 scoring rate during the powerplay, undergoing a early batting collapse, and finally forcing themselves overwhelming to do.

But whatever difficulties there are with their batting approach, if they had seized their opportunities in the fielding area, that 203 total goal would have been significantly smaller.

It needed them three attempts to terminate the 72-run partnership second-wicket collaboration, with keeper Joty not managing to grab a difficult opportunity behind the stumps to remove Perera on 23 runs before Athapaththu got a reprieve from a caught and bowled chance against Rabeya.

Perera was missed again on her score of 55 and 63 runs, the last attempt flying right to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover position, before finally being dismissed lbw by Shorna Akter as she tried to accelerate the scoring with partners falling near her.

Subsequently in the innings, there was additionally a failed stumping and a failed run-out, while the second one was a somewhat unfortunate, with Jhilik deputising with the keeping duties after an fitness issue to Joty.

Regrettably for Bangladesh, such fielding woes are nowhere near a single occurrence. They've failed to catch 14 chances from a possible 27 opportunities at this tournament and have the worst fielding effectiveness (48.1 percent) of the eight teams.

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