Sri Lanka beats Bangladesh to keep their tournament hopes ongoing

ICC Women's World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side win by seven runs

The Lankan cricket team claimed four wickets in the last over to achieve a heart-stopping win over their opponents and keep their faint hopes of qualifying for the tournament knockout stage alive.

Pursuing a attainable score of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team wanted nine more runs from the final six deliveries.

Yet, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu took three important dismissals in four bowls and de Silva ran out Nahida Akter to achieve a dramatic success for Sri Lanka.

The triumph – the Lankan team's first of the competition after three defeats and two abandoned games against Australia and New Zealand – elevates them tied on four match points with India and the New Zealand side, who confront each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, in contrast, endured a fifth straight loss 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 Akter taking a wicket with the opening bowl of the match to remove Vishmi Gunaratne, they were rightfully punished for a subpar fielding performance.

They provided second chances to Hasini Perera, who was dropped on three occasions, and Athapaththu.

Although the Sri Lankan skipper was unable to take advantage, removed leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being put down by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera forced the opposition regret it.

She achieved a maiden international fifty, scoring 85 from 99 bowls and contributing to an crucial 74-run fifth-wicket association with De Silva.

Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna's three wickets for 27 runs, dragged themselves back to the contest, with De Silva's removal in the 34th over causing a Sri Lanka batting collapse from 174 for four to 202 total.

While batting second, Sri Lanka's starting bowlers Malki Madara and Prabodhani contained Bangladesh to 23-1 in a disappointing initial phase and they were afterwards diminished to 44 for three.

Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty rebuilt their score, contributing 82 runs for the fourth wicket collaboration before the batter left the field injured for a determined 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was advantage Bangladesh entering the final two innings segments, with just 12 more runs required.

Nevertheless, Sugandika Dasanayaka removed Ritu Moni and allowed merely three runs before the captain's decisive intervention, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa all removed as the Lankan team seized the triumph at the final moment.

Ultimately, it was a match of composure. The seasoned Lankan captain, who moved aside a handful of team-mates as she got ready to deliver the last over, held her nerve. The opposition could not.

There will be numerous inquiries about the team's batting performance. They could easily have been chasing 270 to 280 with the Lankan team appearing comfortable on 159-4 in the 30th over, but in contrast the chase was significantly less.

However, Bangladesh displayed insufficient purpose from the very beginning, making runs at less than 2.5 scoring rate during the opening overs, experiencing a initial wicket loss, and eventually forcing themselves overwhelming to achieve.

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

It required them three attempts to end the 72-run second-wicket, with wicketkeeper Joty failing to take a difficult chance behind the stumps to dismiss Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu survived from a caught and bowled chance against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was missed further on 55 runs and 63, the last attempt traveling straight to Jhilik at cover, before eventually being dismissed lbw by Shorna as she sought to increase the tempo with partners getting out around her.

Later in the game, there was furthermore a failed stumping and a run-out opportunity lost, while the second one was a somewhat unfortunate, with Rubya Haider standing in with the wicketkeeping gloves due to an fitness issue to Joty.

Sadly for the team, such fielding woes are not at all a isolated incident. They've missed 14 catches from a potential 27 at this World Cup and boast the worst catching success rate (48.1%) of the competing sides.

They are a squad who are generally progressing in the correct path – they are competing in only their second 50-over World Cup ultimately – but poor fielding is a glaring issue which requires improvement.