Sri Lanka beats Bangladesh to keep their tournament hopes alive

Women's Cricket World Cup, Mumbai

Sri Lanka 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 win by seven runs margin

The Lankan cricket team claimed four wickets in the final innings segment to achieve a heart-stopping win over Bangladesh and keep their faint hopes of qualifying for the tournament knockout stage ongoing.

Chasing a below-par target of 203 on a favorable wicket in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh wanted nine additional runs from the remaining six deliveries.

However, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu claimed three important dismissals in four balls and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to achieve a exciting victory for Sri Lanka.

The victory – the Lankan team's first of the competition after three losses and two washed-out matches against Australia and New Zealand – pushes them level on four points with the Indian team and New Zealand, who confront each other on Thursday.

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

While the Bangladeshi side got off to the excellent commencement, with Marufa Akter striking with the opening bowl of the game to dismiss Gunaratne, they were deservedly made to pay for a disappointing fielding effort.

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

While Athapaththu was unable to make it count, removed lbw for 46 a single bowl after being dropped by Rabeya, Perera forced Bangladesh pay.

She scored a maiden international fifty, scoring 85 from 99 bowls and building an significant 74-run partnership fifth-wicket collaboration with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, led by Shorna Akter's impressive bowling figures, pulled themselves back into the contest, with Nilakshi's removal in the 34th innings segment initiating a Lankan batting collapse from 174 with four wickets down to 202 total.

During their chase, Sri Lanka's initial pace attack Malki Madara and Prabodhani limited Bangladesh to 23 with one wicket down in a disappointing initial phase and they were afterwards reduced to 44-3.

Sharmin Akter and Nigar Sultana Joty restored their batting effort, adding 82 for the fourth wicket before Sharmin withdrew due to injury for a resolute 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was advantage Bangladesh approaching the last two innings segments, with merely 12 runs necessary.

However, Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu Moni and allowed merely three runs before the captain's dramatic spell, with Rabeya, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa all removed as Sri Lanka snatched the triumph at the very end.

In the end, it was a game of nerves. The seasoned Lankan captain, who ushered away a few of fellow players as she got ready to deliver the last over, held her composure. Bangladesh did not.

There will be plenty of questions about Bangladesh's batting display. They possibly have been pursuing 270 or 280 with Sri Lanka seeming settled on 159-4 in the 30th bowling phase, but rather the required total was considerably smaller.

Nevertheless, Bangladesh displayed insufficient intent from ball one, making runs at less than 2.5 runs per over during the initial phase, experiencing a initial wicket loss, and ultimately making themselves too much to accomplish.

But no matter what difficulties there are with their batting approach, if they had taken their catches in the fielding area, that 203-run objective would have been significantly lower.

It needed them three attempts to break the 72-run partnership second-wicket, with keeper Joty not managing to grab a difficult chance as wicketkeeper to send back Perera on 23 runs before the captain survived from a return catch possibility against Rabeya.

The batter was spilled once more on 55 and 63, the last attempt flying directly to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover field, before ultimately being trapped leg before wicket by Shorna as she sought to accelerate the scoring with batting partners being dismissed around her.

Afterwards in the innings, there was additionally a missed stumping and a missed run-out, while the second one was a somewhat unfortunate, with Jhilik deputising with the keeping duties due to an physical problem to the regular keeper.

Sadly for the team, such fielding woes are nowhere near a isolated incident. They've dropped 14 opportunities from a possible 27 at this competition and boast the worst fielding effectiveness (48.1 percent) of the competing sides.

They are a side who are typically heading in the proper way – they are playing in only their second one-day World Cup after all – but substandard fielding standards is a obvious problem which requires improvement.