The Lankan team defeats Bangladesh to maintain their campaign ongoing

Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

Sri Lanka emerge victorious by seven runs

Sri Lanka took four wickets in the last innings segment to achieve a heart-stopping triumph over their opponents and preserve their faint aspirations of qualifying for the tournament knockout stage intact.

Needing a attainable total of 203 on a good batting surface in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team required nine additional runs from the remaining six deliveries.

Nevertheless, Lankan skipper Athapaththu secured three important dismissals in four balls and de Silva ran out Nahida to secure a dramatic victory for the Lankan team.

The win – the Lankan team's maiden of the competition after three losses and two abandoned games against Australia and the Kiwi side – pushes them equal on four match points with the Indian team and the New Zealand side, who meet each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, endured a fifth consecutive loss since winning their first match against Pakistan and have been eliminated.

Although the Bangladeshi side got off to the perfect start, with Marufa Akter striking with the initial ball of the match to send back Vishmi Gunaratne, they were deservedly penalized for a disappointing fielding display.

They provided second chances to Perera, who was missed three times, and the Lankan captain.

Although the Sri Lankan skipper could not take advantage, sent back leg before wicket for 46 one ball after being missed by Rabeya, Hasini Perera forced the opposition pay.

She registered a first international half-century, making 85 from 99 balls and building an crucial 74-run fifth-wicket with De Silva.

Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna's 3-27, dragged themselves back into the match, with Nilakshi's wicket in the 34th innings segment causing a Lankan downfall from 174 for four to 202 complete.

While batting second, the Lankan team's opening bowlers Malki Madara and Prabodhani limited Bangladesh to 23 for one in a lacklustre powerplay and they were later diminished to 44-3.

Sharmin Akter and Nigar Sultana Joty restored their batting effort, adding 82 for the fourth wicket stand before the batter withdrew due to injury for a determined 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was in favor of Bangladesh entering the last two bowling phases, with only 12 runs needed.

Nevertheless, Sugandika Dasanayaka removed Ritu and gave away just three scoring runs before the captain's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa all sent back as the Lankan team grabbed the win at the very end.

In the end, it was a match of nerve. The highly experienced Lankan captain, who ushered away a several of team-mates as she prepared to deliver the decisive over, kept her nerve. The opposition failed to.

There will be numerous doubts about Bangladesh's batting display. They could easily have been pursuing 270 to 280 with the Lankan team appearing settled on 159 for four in the 30th innings segment, but instead the required total was much lower.

However, the batting side showed little aggression from ball one, accumulating runs at under 2.5 runs each over during the initial phase, undergoing a early batting collapse, and finally forcing themselves too much to achieve.

But whatever problems there are with their batting lineup, if they had taken their opportunities in the fielding department, that 203-run objective would have been substantially smaller.

It took them three tries to break the 72-run second-wicket, with keeper Joty failing to hold a difficult catch as wicketkeeper to send back Perera on 23 before the captain was spared from a caught and bowled chance against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was dropped once more on 55 and 63 runs, the latter chance traveling directly to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before eventually being given out lbw by Shorna Akter as she attempted to increase the tempo with batting partners being dismissed beside her.

Later in the innings, there was additionally a missed stumping and a failed run-out, even though the second one was a little unlucky, with Rubya Haider substituting with the keeping duties after an fitness issue to Joty.

Sadly for Bangladesh, such fielding issues are nowhere near a isolated incident. They've failed to catch 14 catches from a possible 27 opportunities at this World Cup and display the poorest catching success rate (48.1 percent) of the eight teams.

They are a squad who are overall progressing in the correct path – they are playing in just their second one-day World Cup after all – but inadequate fielding is a glaring problem which needs focus.