The Lankan team defeats the Bangladeshi side to preserve their tournament hopes breathing

Women's Cricket 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 emerge victorious by seven runs margin

The Lankan cricket team secured four crucial dismissals in the final innings segment to seal a nail-biting victory over Bangladesh and keep their narrow aspirations of making it for the tournament knockout stage ongoing.

Pursuing a below-par target of 203 on a favorable wicket in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team required nine additional runs from the last six deliveries.

Yet, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu claimed three wickets in four balls and de Silva ran out Nahida to bring about a thrilling success for Sri Lanka.

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

Bangladesh, however, experienced a fifth consecutive setback since winning their tournament opener against Pakistan and have been eliminated.

Although Bangladesh made the perfect start, with Marufa Akter striking with the opening bowl of the encounter to dismiss Gunaratne, they were deservedly penalized for a poor fielding performance.

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

Even though the Sri Lankan skipper could not take advantage, removed leg before wicket for 46 one ball after being missed by Rabeya, Perera forced the opposition suffer.

She registered a maiden international half-century, scoring 85 from 99 deliveries and building an significant 74-run partnership fifth-wicket association with De Silva.

Bangladesh, led by Shorna Akter's impressive bowling figures, pulled themselves back in the game, with Nilakshi's removal in the 34th bowling segment triggering a Sri Lanka downfall from 174-4 to 202 complete.

While batting second, Sri Lanka's opening bowlers Malki Madara and Prabodhani restricted the opposition to 23 with one wicket down in a disappointing initial phase and they were later reduced to 44 for three.

Sharmin Akter and Nigar Sultana Joty reconstructed their batting effort, adding 82 runs for the fourth wicket collaboration before the batter left the field injured for a stubborn 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was advantage the chasing team heading into the final two bowling phases, with only 12 additional runs needed.

Yet, Sugandika Dasanayaka removed Ritu and gave away only three runs before Athapaththu's dramatic spell, with Rabeya, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa all sent back as the Lankan team snatched the triumph at the death.

Finally, it was a match of nerve. The highly experienced Lankan captain, who ushered away a several of fellow players as she prepared to bowl the final over, kept her composure. The opposition failed to.

There will be plenty of inquiries about the team's batting display. They could easily have been pursuing around 270-280 with the Lankan team looking at ease on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th innings segment, but rather the required total was significantly less.

Yet, Bangladesh showed little purpose from the very beginning, making runs at below 2.5 runs per over during the powerplay, suffering a initial wicket loss, and eventually forcing themselves excessive to do.

But whatever issues there are with their batting, if they had taken their chances in the fielding area, that 203-run target target would have been considerably smaller.

It needed them three tries to terminate the 72-run second-wicket association, with wicketkeeper Nigar Sultana being unable to hold a challenging opportunity as wicketkeeper to dismiss Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before the captain survived from a caught and bowled possibility against Rabeya.

Perera was spilled again on her score of 55 and 63 runs, the latter chance flying directly to Jhilik at cover, before finally being dismissed lbw by Shorna as she sought to up the ante with batting partners getting out beside her.

Later in the game, there was additionally a failed stumping and a missed run-out, while the second one was a somewhat regrettable, with Jhilik standing in with the gloves due to an injury to the regular keeper.

Unfortunately for Bangladesh, such fielding problems are nowhere near a isolated incident. They've dropped 14 chances from a possible 27 chances at this competition and have the lowest catch efficiency (48.1 percent) of the participating teams.

They are a side who are overall progressing in the right direction – they are playing in merely their second one-day World Cup ultimately – but poor fielding is a obvious concern which demands focus.