Sri Lanka overcomes the Bangladeshi side to keep their tournament hopes breathing

ICC Women's World Cup, Navi 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

The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs margin

Sri Lanka claimed four wickets in the decisive innings segment to complete a heart-stopping victory over Bangladesh and maintain their slim chances of making it for the tournament knockout stage alive.

Chasing a below-par target of 203 on a good batting surface in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh needed nine more runs from the final six bowls.

However, Lankan skipper Athapaththu claimed three crucial wickets in four balls and de Silva ran out Nahida to bring about a dramatic win for Sri Lanka.

The win – Sri Lanka's initial of the tournament after three losses and two no-results against Australia and the Kiwi side – moves them level 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, endured a fifth straight defeat since winning their first match against Pakistan and have been eliminated.

While Bangladesh got off to the ideal beginning, with Marufa taking a wicket with the opening bowl of the game to dismiss Gunaratne, they were rightfully penalized for a subpar fielding effort.

They provided lifelines to Perera, who was dropped multiple times, and the Lankan captain.

Although the Sri Lankan skipper failed to take advantage, removed leg before wicket for 46 one ball after being dropped by Rabeya Khan, Perera made the opposition regret it.

She registered a debut international half-century, making 85 from 99 deliveries and sharing an crucial 74-run partnership fifth-wicket collaboration with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, led by Shorna Akter's 3-27, fought themselves back to the contest, with Nilakshi's wicket in the 34th over causing a Sri Lanka downfall from 174 for four to 202 complete.

While batting second, the Lankan team's starting bowlers Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani limited the opposition to 23 with one wicket down in a uninspiring initial phase and they were later brought down to 44 for three.

Sharmin Akter and Joty reconstructed their innings, putting on 82 runs for the fourth wicket before the batter left the field injured for a resolute 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was advantage the chasing team approaching the final two innings segments, with only 12 runs necessary.

However, Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu and conceded only three runs before Athapaththu's decisive intervention, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, captain Joty and Marufa Akter all sent back as Sri Lanka snatched the triumph at the final moment.

In the end, it was a match of nerves. The very experienced Athapaththu, who directed away a handful of teammates as she got ready to bowl the decisive over, held her nerve. Bangladesh did not.

There will be plenty of questions about Bangladesh's batting effort. They might well have been needing around 270-280 with the Lankan team looking settled on 159 for four in the 30th innings segment, but in contrast the chase was much lower.

However, the batting side displayed insufficient intent from the start, scoring at under 2.5 runs per over during the initial phase, suffering a top-order collapse, and finally forcing themselves excessive to achieve.

But whatever difficulties there are with their batting, if they had taken their chances in the fielding department, that 203 total goal would have been significantly smaller.

It needed them three attempts to break the 72-run second-wicket association, with keeper Joty failing to grab a tough chance behind the stumps to remove Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu survived from a return catch opportunity against Rabeya.

Perera was spilled again on 55 runs and her score of 63, the latter chance traveling directly to Jhilik at cover field, before ultimately being given out leg before wicket by Shorna Akter as she sought to up the ante with batting partners falling near her.

Afterwards in the game, there was furthermore a missed stumping and a run-out opportunity lost, while the second one was a slightly unlucky, with Jhilik deputising with the keeping duties following an injury to Joty.

Unfortunately for Bangladesh, such fielding woes are not at all a single occurrence. They've missed 14 catches from a possible 27 at this tournament and boast the worst catch efficiency (48.1 percent) of the participating teams.

They are a team who are overall moving in the correct path – they are playing in only their second ODI World Cup in the end – but inadequate fielding is a glaring problem which requires attention.