Sri Lanka beats Bangladesh to maintain their World Cup tournament hopes breathing

ICC Women's World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

Sri Lanka emerge victorious by seven runs

The Lankan cricket team claimed four wickets in the last over to seal a thrilling victory over their opponents and maintain their slim chances of qualifying for the tournament knockout stage intact.

Needing a below-par score of 203 on a favorable wicket in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh needed nine additional runs from the final six deliveries.

However, Lankan skipper Athapaththu claimed three crucial wickets in four deliveries and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida to secure a dramatic success for Sri Lanka.

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

The Bangladeshi team, however, experienced a fifth consecutive setback since winning their tournament opener against Pakistan and have been removed from contention.

While Bangladesh got off to the excellent commencement, with Marufa striking with the initial ball of the game to remove Vishmi Gunaratne, they were appropriately penalized for a poor fielding performance.

They offered reprieves to Perera, who was missed multiple times, and Athapaththu.

Although Athapaththu failed to make it count, removed leg before wicket for 46 one ball after being missed by Rabeya, Hasini Perera made Bangladesh pay.

She registered a first international half-century, accumulating 85 from 99 balls and contributing to an important 74-run partnership fifth-wicket collaboration with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, guided by Shorna's three wickets for 27 runs, dragged themselves back in the contest, with Nilakshi's removal in the 34th innings segment initiating a Sri Lanka batting collapse from 174-4 to 202 complete.

While batting second, the Lankan team's initial pace attack Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani contained the opposition to 23 with one wicket down in a disappointing opening overs and they were later reduced to 44-3.

Sharmin and Joty restored their score, adding an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket before Sharmin retired hurt for a stubborn 64 in the 36th over.

It was advantage Bangladesh entering the last two overs, with just 12 more runs required.

Nevertheless, Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu Moni and gave away just three scoring runs before Athapaththu's chaos, with Rabeya, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa all sent back as Sri Lanka grabbed the triumph at the very end.

Ultimately, it was a game of nerve. The very experienced Lankan captain, who ushered away a few of fellow players as she got ready to bowl the last over, held hers. The opposition could not.

There will be plenty of questions about the team's batting display. They possibly have been chasing around 270-280 with the Lankan team seeming at ease on 159 for four in the 30th over, but in contrast the chase was considerably smaller.

However, the batting side showed little purpose from the very beginning, making runs at below 2.5 runs per over during the opening overs, suffering a early batting collapse, and eventually leaving themselves excessive to do.

But whatever issues there are with their batting lineup, if they had accepted their catches in the field, that 203-run target target would have been significantly less.

It needed them three tries to terminate the 72-run partnership second-wicket, with wicketkeeper Joty failing to take a tough chance as wicketkeeper to send back Perera on 23 before Athapaththu was spared from a caught and bowled chance possibility against Rabeya.

The batter was missed further on her score of 55 and her score of 63, the latter chance traveling right to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before finally being given out leg before wicket by Shorna Akter as she attempted to increase the tempo with teammates falling around her.

Afterwards in the game, there was furthermore a stumping chance missed and a missed run-out, while the run-out chance was a somewhat regrettable, with Jhilik standing in with the gloves after an fitness issue to the regular keeper.

Sadly for the team, such fielding woes are nowhere near a isolated incident. They've dropped 14 chances from a available 27 opportunities at this competition and boast the poorest catch efficiency (less than 50%) of the competing sides.

They are a side who are overall heading in the proper way – they are playing in merely their second ODI World Cup ultimately – but poor fielding is a obvious problem which needs attention.