The Lankan team overcomes the Bangladeshi side to keep their tournament hopes ongoing

Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai

The Lankan team 202 (48.4 overs): Perera 85 (99); Shorna Akter 3-27

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

The Lankan side win by seven runs margin

Sri Lanka secured four crucial dismissals in the decisive over to achieve a nail-biting win over their opponents and maintain their faint hopes of making it for the World Cup semi-finals intact.

Needing a modest target of 203 on a good batting surface in the Mumbai stadium, the Bangladeshi team wanted nine runs from the final six balls.

However, Lankan skipper Athapaththu claimed three important dismissals in four balls and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida to bring about a thrilling victory for Sri Lanka.

The triumph – the Lankan team's maiden of the competition after three defeats and two abandoned games against the Australian team and New Zealand – moves them level on four points with India and the New Zealand side, who meet each other on Thursday.

Bangladesh, in contrast, suffered a fifth successive setback since securing victory in their tournament opener against the Pakistani team and have been removed from contention.

Even though Bangladesh made the perfect start, with Marufa Akter striking with the initial ball of the match to send back Gunaratne, they were rightfully made to pay for a poor fielding effort.

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

Although Athapaththu was unable to capitalise, dismissed leg before wicket for 46 one ball after being dropped by Rabeya, Hasini Perera made Bangladesh regret it.

She scored a first international 50-run score, accumulating 85 from 99 bowls and contributing to an important 74-run stand fifth-wicket collaboration with De Silva.

Bangladesh, guided by Shorna's three wickets for 27 runs, pulled themselves back into the contest, with De Silva's removal in the 34th bowling segment initiating a Sri Lanka downfall from 174 with four wickets down to 202 total.

While batting second, Sri Lanka's initial pace attack Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani contained Bangladesh to 23 with one wicket down in a uninspiring opening overs and they were later reduced to 44-3.

Sharmin Akter and Joty rebuilt their score, contributing an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket stand before Sharmin withdrew due to injury for a stubborn 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was leaning toward the chasing team entering the remaining two overs, with only 12 more runs needed.

Yet, Sugandika Dasanayaka sent back Ritu and gave away merely three scoring runs before Athapaththu's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa all dismissed as Sri Lanka grabbed the triumph at the very end.

Ultimately, it was a contest of composure. The highly experienced Athapaththu, who ushered away a few of team-mates as she set herself to bowl the decisive over, held her nerve. Bangladesh could not.

There will be plenty of questions about the team's batting display. They might well have been chasing 270 or 280 with Sri Lanka appearing at ease on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th innings segment, but in contrast the required total was considerably smaller.

Yet, the batting side displayed insufficient aggression from ball one, making runs at under 2.5 scoring rate during the initial phase, undergoing a initial wicket loss, and eventually making themselves overwhelming to accomplish.

But no matter what problems there are with their batting, if they had accepted their catches in the fielding department, that 203 total target would have been significantly less.

It took them three attempts to terminate the 72-run second-wicket association, with wicketkeeper Nigar Sultana failing to hold a challenging chance while keeping to send back Hasini Perera on 23 runs before the captain survived from a return catch possibility against Rabeya Khan.

The batter was spilled once more on 55 and 63 runs, the final opportunity traveling right to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover position, before eventually being trapped lbw by Shorna Akter as she attempted to accelerate the scoring with partners getting out around her.

Subsequently in the batting effort, there was additionally a stumping chance missed and a failed run-out, even though the latter was a slightly unfortunate, with Jhilik substituting with the wicketkeeping gloves after an fitness issue to the regular keeper.

Unfortunately for the team, such fielding issues are not at all a isolated incident. They've dropped 14 opportunities from a possible 27 chances at this World Cup and boast the lowest catching success rate (48.1%) of the competing sides.

They are a side who are typically moving in the proper way – they are participating in only their second one-day World Cup ultimately – but inadequate fielding performance is a obvious concern which demands focus.