Sri Lanka overcomes Bangladesh to preserve their campaign ongoing

Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side win by seven runs

Sri Lanka secured four wickets in the decisive innings segment to seal a thrilling triumph over their opponents and keep their narrow hopes of making it for the tournament knockout stage alive.

Chasing a modest total of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh needed nine runs from the final six deliveries.

Yet, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu took three wickets in four bowls and Nilakshi de Silva ran out Nahida Akter to achieve a exciting win for Sri Lanka.

The triumph – Sri Lanka's maiden of the tournament after three unsuccessful matches and two abandoned games against Australia and the Kiwi side – elevates them level on four tournament points with India and the New Zealand side, who confront each other on Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, in contrast, experienced a fifth successive defeat since winning their first match against the Pakistani team and have been removed from contention.

Even though Bangladesh made the ideal beginning, with Marufa taking a wicket with the first delivery of the encounter to remove Vishmi Gunaratne, they were appropriately made to pay for a disappointing fielding effort.

They gifted second chances to Perera, who was missed three times, and Athapaththu.

Although Athapaththu failed to capitalise, dismissed leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being put down by Rabeya, Hasini Perera made the opposition suffer.

She scored a maiden international fifty, making 85 from 99 balls and contributing to an crucial 74-run partnership fifth-wicket association with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, led by Shorna Akter's impressive bowling figures, fought themselves back in the game, with De Silva's removal in the 34th bowling segment triggering a Sri Lanka collapse from 174 for four to 202 complete.

In reply, the Lankan team's initial pace attack Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani restricted Bangladesh to 23-1 in a lacklustre initial phase and they were later reduced to 44 with three wickets lost.

Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty rebuilt their score, contributing 82 for the fourth wicket before Sharmin left the field injured for a stubborn 64 in the 36th over.

It was leaning toward Bangladesh entering the last two bowling phases, with merely 12 runs necessary.

Nevertheless, Sugandika Dasanayaka sent back Ritu Moni and allowed merely three runs before the captain's chaos, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all dismissed as Sri Lanka seized the victory at the very end.

Finally, it was a contest of composure. The highly experienced Lankan captain, who moved aside a several of fellow players as she got ready to bowl the last over, maintained her composure. Bangladesh could not.

There will be numerous doubts about Bangladesh's batting display. They possibly have been needing 270 to 280 with Sri Lanka seeming comfortable on 159 for four in the 30th innings segment, but rather the chase was much lower.

However, Bangladesh lacked intent from ball one, accumulating runs at less than 2.5 scoring rate during the powerplay, undergoing a top-order collapse, and ultimately leaving themselves excessive to accomplish.

But no matter what difficulties there are with their batting, if they had seized their chances in the field, that 203 total target would have been substantially smaller.

It needed them three attempts to break the 72-run second-wicket association, with wicketkeeper Joty failing to grab a challenging catch behind the stumps to remove Hasini Perera on 23 runs before the captain survived from a caught and bowled chance opportunity against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was spilled further on 55 and her score of 63, the final opportunity traveling straight to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover field, before finally being given out lbw by Shorna Akter as she sought to accelerate the scoring with batting partners getting out around her.

Subsequently in the batting effort, there was also a stumping chance missed and a run-out opportunity lost, although the latter was a slightly regrettable, with Rubya Haider substituting with the gloves after an physical problem to Joty.

Sadly for the team, such fielding woes are far from a single occurrence. They've missed 14 opportunities from a available 27 at this World Cup and boast the worst fielding effectiveness (48.1 percent) of the eight teams.

They are a side who are generally moving in the proper way – they are participating in just their second one-day World Cup in the end – but inadequate fielding standards is a glaring problem which needs attention.