The Lankan team overcomes Bangladesh to keep their World Cup campaign alive

Women's Cricket World Cup, Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs

Sri Lanka took four crucial dismissals in the final innings segment to achieve a thrilling victory over their opponents and preserve their narrow chances of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals alive.

Chasing a modest target of 203 on a favorable wicket in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh needed nine more runs from the last six deliveries.

However, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu took three crucial wickets in four deliveries and Nilakshi de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida to bring about a dramatic success for the Lankan team.

The victory – Sri Lanka's initial of the competition after three unsuccessful matches and two abandoned games against the Australian team and the Kiwi side – pushes them tied on four match points with the Indian team and New Zealand, who face each other on the coming Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, however, suffered a fifth successive setback since winning their initial game against Pakistan and have been removed from contention.

While the Bangladeshi side got off to the ideal beginning, with Marufa Akter striking with the first delivery of the match to remove Vishmi Gunaratne, they were rightfully punished for a poor fielding display.

They offered reprieves to Perera, who was missed three times, and the Lankan captain.

Even though Athapaththu failed to take advantage, dismissed lbw for 46 a single bowl after being dropped by Rabeya, Hasini Perera made Bangladesh pay.

She scored a debut international fifty, making 85 from 99 balls and sharing an significant 74-run fifth-wicket collaboration with De Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, guided by Shorna's impressive bowling figures, dragged themselves back into the contest, with Nilakshi's removal in the 34th innings segment triggering a Lankan downfall from 174 for four to 202 total.

In reply, the Lankan team's initial pace attack Madara and Prabodhani restricted the opposition to 23 with one wicket down in a uninspiring opening overs and they were subsequently brought down to 44 for three.

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

It was advantage Bangladesh approaching the final two bowling phases, with only 12 more runs needed.

Nevertheless, Dasanayaka sent back Ritu and gave away only three runs before Athapaththu's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa all sent back as the Lankan team snatched the triumph at the death.

Ultimately, it was a game of nerve. The seasoned Lankan captain, who directed away a handful of fellow players as she got ready to deliver the decisive over, kept hers. The opposition did not.

There will be numerous doubts about Bangladesh's batting performance. They could easily have been pursuing around 270-280 with the Lankan team seeming comfortable on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th innings segment, but rather the required total was much lower.

However, Bangladesh lacked aggression from the very beginning, making runs at less than 2.5 runs each over during the initial phase, undergoing a early batting collapse, and eventually making themselves overwhelming to do.

But no matter what issues there are with their batting approach, if they had seized their catches in the field, that 203 total goal would have been considerably less.

It needed them three tries to end the 72-run partnership second-wicket, with wicketkeeper Joty not managing to take a difficult opportunity behind the stumps to remove Perera on 23 before the captain got a reprieve from a caught and bowled chance opportunity against Rabeya.

Perera was spilled again on 55 runs and 63, the final opportunity flying directly to Jhilik at cover field, before eventually being given out leg before wicket by Shorna as she tried to up the ante with teammates getting out beside her.

Subsequently in the batting effort, there was furthermore a stumping chance missed and a run-out opportunity lost, although the latter was a somewhat regrettable, with Jhilik substituting with the wicketkeeping gloves due to an injury to Joty.

Unfortunately for the team, such fielding problems are far from a one-off. They've missed 14 opportunities from a potential 27 opportunities at this competition and display the worst fielding effectiveness (48.1%) of the competing sides.

They are a team who are generally heading in the proper way – they are playing in only their second 50-over World Cup in the end – but substandard fielding is a glaring concern which demands focus.