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

Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side win by seven runs margin

The Lankan cricket team secured four wickets in the decisive innings segment to complete a thrilling triumph over their opponents and preserve their faint hopes of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals alive.

Chasing a attainable total of 203 on a favorable wicket in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh wanted nine additional runs from the remaining six balls.

Yet, Lankan skipper Athapaththu secured three important dismissals in four balls and Nilakshi de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to secure a dramatic success for the Lankan team.

The win – Sri Lanka's first of the tournament after three defeats and two washed-out matches against the Australian team and New Zealand – moves them equal on four points with the Indian team and New Zealand, who face each other on the coming Thursday.

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

Even though the Bangladeshi side got off to the ideal beginning, with Marufa taking a wicket with the opening bowl of the encounter to remove Gunaratne, they were deservedly punished for a disappointing fielding performance.

They offered lifelines to Hasini Perera, who was missed on three occasions, and the Lankan captain.

Although Athapaththu was unable to capitalise, dismissed lbw for 46 one ball after being put down by Rabeya, Hasini Perera made Bangladesh suffer.

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

Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna's 3-27, dragged themselves back into the match, with Nilakshi's dismissal in the 34th innings segment triggering a Lankan collapse from 174-4 to 202 total.

While batting second, the Lankan team's opening bowlers Malki Madara and Prabodhani limited the opposition to 23 with one wicket down in a lacklustre opening overs and they were afterwards reduced to 44 for three.

Sharmin and Joty rebuilt their batting effort, adding 82 for the fourth wicket before Sharmin retired hurt for a resolute 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was advantage the chasing team heading into the final two overs, with merely 12 additional runs required.

Yet, Dasanayaka sent back Ritu Moni and conceded just three scoring runs before Athapaththu's dramatic spell, with Rabeya, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all removed as the Lankan team snatched the victory at the very end.

In the end, it was a game of nerves. The seasoned Lankan captain, who moved aside a several of fellow players as she prepared to bowl the last over, maintained hers. Bangladesh failed to.

There will be plenty of inquiries about the team's batting effort. They could easily have been pursuing 270 to 280 with Sri Lanka seeming at ease on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th bowling phase, but instead the chase was much lower.

However, the batting side displayed insufficient intent from the start, making runs at under 2.5 runs per over during the initial phase, experiencing a initial wicket loss, and ultimately making themselves excessive to do.

But whatever difficulties there are with their batting, if they had accepted their chances in the fielding department, that 203-run target would have been considerably lower.

It required them three efforts to end the 72-run partnership second-wicket association, with keeper Nigar Sultana being unable to hold a challenging opportunity as wicketkeeper to remove Perera on 23 runs before Athapaththu got a reprieve from a caught and bowled chance possibility against Rabeya.

Perera was missed once more on her score of 55 and 63 runs, the latter chance traveling directly to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before ultimately being dismissed lbw by Shorna Akter as she tried to accelerate the scoring with teammates getting out around her.

Later in the game, there was also a failed stumping and a run-out opportunity lost, even though the second one was a little unlucky, with Rubya Haider standing in with the keeping duties following an fitness issue to Joty.

Sadly for Bangladesh, such fielding woes are nowhere near a isolated incident. They've missed 14 chances from a possible 27 opportunities at this competition and display the lowest fielding effectiveness (48.1 percent) of the competing sides.

They are a side who are overall moving in the correct path – they are participating in merely their second one-day World Cup ultimately – but inadequate fielding standards is a obvious problem which requires attention.