The Lankan team defeats the Bangladeshi side to keep their campaign ongoing

ICC Women's World Cup, Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side win by seven runs margin

Sri Lanka secured four wickets in the decisive over to seal a nail-biting triumph over Bangladesh and maintain their faint aspirations of qualifying for the tournament knockout stage alive.

Pursuing a attainable total of 203 on a favorable wicket in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh wanted nine more runs from the remaining six balls.

Nevertheless, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu claimed three wickets in four deliveries and de Silva ran out Nahida to bring about a exciting victory for the Lankan team.

The triumph – the Lankan team's first of the competition after three defeats and two no-results against Australia and New Zealand – moves them tied on four match points with India and New Zealand, who face each other on the coming Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, in contrast, suffered a fifth successive setback since securing victory in their tournament opener against Pakistan and have been knocked out.

Even though Bangladesh got off to the excellent commencement, with Marufa striking with the opening bowl of the match to send back Gunaratne, they were rightfully penalized for a disappointing fielding performance.

They gifted second chances to Hasini Perera, who was dropped on three occasions, and the Lankan captain.

While the Sri Lankan skipper failed to capitalise, dismissed leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being dropped by Rabeya Khan, Perera forced the opposition suffer.

She registered a first international fifty, scoring 85 from 99 deliveries and building an significant 74-run fifth-wicket collaboration with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, guided by Shorna Akter's 3-27, pulled themselves back into the contest, with De Silva's wicket in the 34th innings segment initiating a Lankan collapse from 174-4 to 202 all out.

In reply, the Lankan team's starting bowlers Madara and Prabodhani limited the opposition to 23-1 in a uninspiring initial phase and they were afterwards diminished to 44 for three.

Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty reconstructed their batting effort, putting on 82 for the fourth wicket stand before Sharmin withdrew due to injury for a stubborn 64 in the 36th over.

It was in favor of Bangladesh approaching the final two bowling phases, with merely 12 additional runs needed.

However, Sugandika Dasanayaka sent back Ritu Moni and allowed only three scoring runs before the captain's decisive intervention, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, captain Joty and Marufa all sent back as the Lankan team grabbed the victory at the final moment.

Ultimately, it was a contest of composure. The seasoned Athapaththu, who directed away a few of team-mates as she got ready to bowl the decisive over, held her nerve. Bangladesh did not.

There will be numerous doubts about Bangladesh's batting performance. They possibly have been needing around 270-280 with the Lankan team appearing settled on 159 for four in the 30th over, but instead the required total was considerably smaller.

Nevertheless, Bangladesh showed little intent from the start, accumulating runs at less than 2.5 runs each over during the opening overs, undergoing a early batting collapse, and finally leaving themselves too much to accomplish.

But whatever issues there are with their batting approach, if they had accepted their chances in the fielding area, that 203-run target would have been substantially less.

It took them three tries to terminate the 72-run partnership second-wicket association, with keeper Joty being unable to hold a difficult opportunity behind the stumps to dismiss Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before the captain was spared from a return catch possibility against Rabeya Khan.

The batter was dropped once more on her score of 55 and 63, the final opportunity going right to Jhilik at cover, before ultimately being given out leg before wicket by Shorna Akter as she sought to up the ante with batting partners being dismissed near her.

Later in the game, there was furthermore a missed stumping and a failed run-out, although the second one was a slightly regrettable, with Rubya Haider standing in with the gloves after an injury to the regular keeper.

Sadly for the team, such fielding problems are far from a isolated incident. They've failed to catch 14 catches from a available 27 chances at this World Cup and boast the lowest catch efficiency (less than 50%) of the eight teams.

They are a team who are generally heading in the right direction – they are participating in just their second 50-over World Cup in the end – but inadequate fielding is a prominent problem which needs improvement.