Sri Lanka defeats Bangladesh to maintain their campaign breathing

Women's Cricket World Cup, Mumbai

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

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

Sri Lanka win by seven runs margin

Sri Lanka claimed four wickets in the decisive innings segment to achieve a heart-stopping triumph over their opponents and maintain their faint chances of qualifying for the tournament knockout stage intact.

Pursuing a modest total of 203 on a good batting surface in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh needed nine additional runs from the remaining six bowls.

Yet, Lankan skipper Athapaththu took three important dismissals in four bowls and Nilakshi de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida to achieve a dramatic success for Sri Lanka.

The victory – Sri Lanka's initial of the competition after three unsuccessful matches and two abandoned games against the Australian team and the Kiwi side – elevates them equal on four tournament points with the Indian team and the New Zealand side, who meet each other on Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, on the other hand, experienced a fifth straight defeat since securing victory in their first match against Pakistan and have been removed from contention.

Although the Bangladeshi side got off to the ideal beginning, with Marufa taking a wicket with the opening bowl of the game to remove Gunaratne, they were rightfully made to pay for a subpar fielding display.

They offered second chances to Perera, who was missed on three occasions, and Athapaththu.

Even though Athapaththu could not capitalise, dismissed lbw for 46 just one delivery after being put down by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera made the opposition pay.

She scored a first international 50-run score, making 85 from 99 balls and sharing an significant 74-run stand fifth-wicket with De Silva.

Bangladesh, guided by Shorna Akter's three wickets for 27 runs, fought themselves back to the contest, with De Silva's dismissal in the 34th over triggering a Lankan batting collapse from 174 for four to 202 all out.

In reply, Sri Lanka's starting bowlers Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani limited Bangladesh to 23 for one in a disappointing initial phase and they were later brought down to 44 with three wickets lost.

Sharmin Akter and Joty rebuilt their batting effort, putting on an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket stand before Sharmin left the field injured for a stubborn 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was advantage Bangladesh approaching the remaining two innings segments, with merely 12 additional runs needed.

Yet, Dasanayaka sent back Ritu Moni and gave away just three runs before Athapaththu's chaos, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all removed as Sri Lanka grabbed the win at the very end.

Ultimately, it was a match of nerves. The seasoned Athapaththu, who moved aside a few of fellow players as she got ready to deliver the decisive over, kept her composure. Bangladesh did not.

There will be many questions about the team's batting effort. They could easily have been pursuing 270 to 280 with Sri Lanka seeming settled on 159-4 in the 30th bowling phase, but rather the chase was significantly less.

However, the batting side lacked purpose from the start, scoring at less than 2.5 scoring rate during the powerplay, experiencing a top-order collapse, and finally forcing themselves excessive to achieve.

But whatever problems there are with their batting, if they had seized their opportunities in the fielding area, that 203-run goal would have been significantly less.

It needed them three tries to break the 72-run partnership second-wicket, with keeper Nigar Sultana failing to take a tough catch while keeping to dismiss Perera on her score of 23 before the captain was spared from a return catch possibility against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was spilled further on 55 and 63, the latter chance flying right to Jhilik at cover field, before finally being given out leg before wicket by Shorna as she sought to accelerate the scoring with teammates falling near her.

Subsequently in the game, there was furthermore a missed stumping and a run-out opportunity lost, while the run-out chance was a somewhat unlucky, with Jhilik deputising with the gloves due to an injury to the regular keeper.

Unfortunately for Bangladesh, such fielding issues are nowhere near a single occurrence. They've failed to catch 14 opportunities from a available 27 chances at this World Cup and have the lowest catch efficiency (48.1 percent) of the competing sides.

They are a side who are generally moving in the correct path – they are competing in merely their second 50-over World Cup in the end – but inadequate fielding standards is a glaring concern which demands improvement.