The Lankan team defeats Bangladesh to keep their tournament hopes breathing

ICC Women's World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs margin

The Lankan cricket team claimed four crucial dismissals in the last over to achieve a heart-stopping win over Bangladesh and maintain their faint aspirations of making it for the tournament knockout stage ongoing.

Needing a below-par target of 203 on a good batting surface in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh wanted nine additional runs from the last six bowls.

However, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu took three important dismissals in four bowls and de Silva ran out Nahida to bring about a dramatic success for the Lankan team.

The victory – the Lankan team's initial of the World Cup after three losses and two abandoned games against the Australian team and the Kiwi side – moves them equal on four points with India and the New Zealand side, who meet each other on the coming Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, however, suffered a fifth successive defeat since winning their first match against Pakistan and have been removed from contention.

Although the Bangladeshi side made the ideal beginning, with Marufa striking with the opening bowl of the encounter to send back Vishmi Gunaratne, they were deservedly penalized for a subpar fielding performance.

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

Even though the Sri Lankan skipper could not capitalise, removed lbw for 46 one ball after being missed by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera forced Bangladesh pay.

She scored a maiden international 50-run score, making 85 from 99 balls and contributing to an important 74-run stand fifth-wicket collaboration with De Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, guided by Shorna's impressive bowling figures, dragged themselves back in the match, with Nilakshi's removal in the 34th bowling segment initiating a Sri Lanka collapse from 174 with four wickets down to 202 total.

During their chase, Sri Lanka's opening bowlers Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani contained Bangladesh to 23 with one wicket down in a disappointing opening overs and they were subsequently brought down to 44-3.

Sharmin Akter and Joty reconstructed their innings, putting on 82 runs for the fourth wicket stand before the batter left the field injured for a determined 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was advantage Bangladesh heading into the final two innings segments, with merely 12 additional runs required.

Yet, Sugandika Dasanayaka removed Ritu Moni and gave away merely three scoring runs before the captain's decisive intervention, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all dismissed as the Lankan team snatched the win at the death.

In the end, it was a match of nerves. The seasoned Lankan captain, who moved aside a handful of fellow players as she prepared to bowl the final over, maintained her nerve. The opposition failed to.

There will be many questions about the team's batting display. They might well have been needing around 270-280 with Sri Lanka seeming at ease on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th innings segment, but in contrast the required total was significantly less.

However, Bangladesh displayed insufficient intent from ball one, accumulating runs at below 2.5 runs per over during the opening overs, suffering a early batting collapse, and eventually forcing themselves excessive to do.

But no matter what issues there are with their batting, if they had seized their chances in the fielding department, that 203-run objective would have been considerably less.

It required them three efforts to break the 72-run partnership second-wicket collaboration, with keeper Joty failing to hold a difficult opportunity behind the stumps to dismiss Perera on 23 before the captain survived from a return catch chance against Rabeya.

Perera was spilled once more on her score of 55 and 63 runs, the latter chance flying directly to Jhilik at cover position, before eventually being given out lbw by Shorna Akter as she sought to accelerate the scoring with teammates being dismissed around her.

Afterwards in the innings, there was furthermore a stumping chance missed and a missed run-out, although the run-out chance was a slightly unlucky, with Rubya Haider deputising with the gloves following an fitness issue to Joty.

Sadly for the team, such fielding woes are nowhere near a one-off. They've dropped 14 opportunities from a potential 27 at this tournament and boast the lowest catch efficiency (48.1%) of the participating teams.

They are a side who are overall progressing in the right direction – they are competing in just their second ODI World Cup in the end – but substandard fielding is a prominent concern which requires focus.