The Lankan team overcomes the Bangladeshi side to keep their tournament hopes ongoing

Women's Cricket World Cup, Mumbai

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

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

Sri Lanka emerge victorious by seven runs margin

The Lankan cricket team took four wickets in the last innings segment to achieve a thrilling triumph over Bangladesh and maintain their faint hopes of making it for the tournament knockout stage ongoing.

Pursuing a attainable score of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh needed nine runs from the last six balls.

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

The triumph – Sri Lanka's maiden of the competition after three losses and two washed-out matches against Australia and New Zealand – pushes them level on four points with India and the New Zealand side, who face each other on Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, in contrast, experienced a fifth straight loss since securing victory in their initial game against the Pakistani team and have been eliminated.

Although the Bangladeshi side made the perfect start, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the initial ball of the game to remove Gunaratne, they were appropriately penalized for a disappointing fielding performance.

They provided reprieves to Hasini Perera, who was missed on three occasions, and Athapaththu.

Although Athapaththu failed to make it count, sent back lbw for 46 one ball after being dropped by Rabeya, Hasini Perera forced the opposition suffer.

She achieved a debut international half-century, accumulating 85 from 99 bowls and sharing an crucial 74-run partnership fifth-wicket with De Silva.

Bangladesh, led by Shorna Akter's impressive bowling figures, fought themselves back into the contest, with Nilakshi's wicket in the 34th innings segment triggering a Lankan downfall from 174 with four wickets down to 202 total.

In reply, the Lankan team's starting bowlers Malki Madara and Prabodhani restricted Bangladesh to 23 for one in a lacklustre initial phase and they were subsequently reduced to 44 with three wickets lost.

Sharmin Akter and Nigar Sultana Joty rebuilt their batting effort, adding an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket before Sharmin withdrew due to injury for a resolute 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was in favor of the chasing team heading into the final two innings segments, with merely 12 additional runs necessary.

Yet, Dasanayaka sent back Ritu and allowed just three runs before Athapaththu's chaos, with Rabeya, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all removed as the Lankan team grabbed the win at the final moment.

Finally, it was a contest of composure. The very experienced Athapaththu, who moved aside a several of fellow players as she prepared to bowl the decisive over, maintained her composure. The opposition failed to.

There will be plenty of inquiries about the team's batting effort. They possibly have been chasing around 270-280 with the Lankan team seeming comfortable on 159-4 in the 30th bowling phase, but rather the required total was significantly less.

Yet, Bangladesh lacked intent from the start, scoring at below 2.5 scoring rate during the opening overs, experiencing a early batting collapse, and ultimately forcing themselves excessive to accomplish.

But no matter what difficulties there are with their batting lineup, if they had accepted their opportunities in the fielding department, that 203 total goal would have been significantly less.

It needed them three efforts to break the 72-run partnership second-wicket collaboration, with wicketkeeper Joty not managing to hold a difficult catch behind the stumps to remove Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before the captain survived from a caught and bowled chance against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was dropped again on her score of 55 and 63, the latter chance flying directly to Jhilik at cover position, before finally being given out leg before wicket by Shorna Akter as she tried to increase the tempo with batting partners getting out beside her.

Afterwards in the innings, there was furthermore a missed stumping and a failed run-out, even though the run-out chance was a little unfortunate, with Rubya Haider substituting with the keeping duties due to an fitness issue to the regular keeper.

Unfortunately for the team, such fielding problems are nowhere near a one-off. They've failed to catch 14 catches from a available 27 chances at this World Cup and display the worst fielding effectiveness (less than 50%) of the eight teams.

They are a side who are typically heading in the right direction – they are participating in merely their second one-day World Cup in the end – but poor fielding performance is a glaring concern which demands attention.