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

Women's Cricket World Cup, Mumbai

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

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

Sri Lanka win by seven runs margin

The Lankan cricket team took four crucial dismissals in the decisive over to achieve a heart-stopping triumph over Bangladesh and keep their slim hopes of making it for the World Cup semi-finals ongoing.

Pursuing a below-par target of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh needed nine additional runs from the final six deliveries.

However, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu claimed three wickets in four deliveries and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida to secure a thrilling win for Sri Lanka.

The win – the Lankan team's first of the competition after three defeats and two abandoned games against Australia and New Zealand – elevates them equal on four match points with India and the New Zealand side, who meet each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, experienced a fifth successive setback since winning their tournament opener against Pakistan and have been knocked out.

While Bangladesh made the excellent commencement, with Marufa taking a wicket with the initial ball of the game to send back Vishmi Gunaratne, they were deservedly made to pay for a poor fielding effort.

They offered second chances to Hasini Perera, who was spilled multiple times, and the Lankan captain.

Even though Athapaththu could not make it count, removed leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being missed by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera forced Bangladesh pay.

She registered a maiden international fifty, making 85 from 99 bowls and contributing to an significant 74-run fifth-wicket association with Nilakshi de Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, led by Shorna Akter's impressive bowling figures, pulled themselves back in the game, with Nilakshi's dismissal in the 34th bowling segment triggering a Lankan collapse from 174-4 to 202 complete.

In reply, Sri Lanka's starting bowlers Malki Madara and Prabodhani limited the opposition to 23-1 in a disappointing initial phase and they were later reduced to 44-3.

Sharmin and Joty reconstructed their innings, adding 82 runs for the fourth wicket before Sharmin withdrew due to injury for a stubborn 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was leaning toward the chasing team approaching the last two overs, with merely 12 more runs required.

Nevertheless, Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu Moni and allowed merely three runs before Athapaththu's dramatic spell, with Rabeya, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa all dismissed as Sri Lanka seized the win at the very end.

Finally, it was a game of composure. The very experienced Lankan captain, who directed away a few of fellow players as she got ready to deliver the final over, kept her nerve. Bangladesh could not.

There will be plenty of questions about Bangladesh's batting display. They might well have been chasing around 270-280 with Sri Lanka looking at ease on 159-4 in the 30th bowling phase, but rather the chase was much lower.

Nevertheless, the batting side displayed insufficient aggression from the start, accumulating runs at less than 2.5 runs each over during the opening overs, experiencing a early batting collapse, and eventually leaving themselves too much to accomplish.

But whatever issues there are with their batting approach, if they had seized their opportunities in the fielding department, that 203-run target goal would have been substantially less.

It took them three tries to terminate the 72-run stand second-wicket, with wicketkeeper Nigar Sultana being unable to hold a difficult opportunity as wicketkeeper to send back Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu was spared from a caught and bowled possibility against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was dropped again on her score of 55 and 63 runs, the latter chance flying right to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover position, before ultimately being dismissed leg before wicket by Shorna Akter as she tried to accelerate the scoring with teammates falling beside her.

Subsequently in the game, there was furthermore a failed stumping and a run-out opportunity lost, even though the run-out chance was a slightly unfortunate, with Rubya Haider standing in with the keeping duties due to an injury to the regular keeper.

Unfortunately for Bangladesh, such fielding problems are not at all a one-off. They've missed 14 chances from a possible 27 chances at this World Cup and display the lowest fielding effectiveness (48.1 percent) of the eight teams.

They are a team who are typically progressing in the proper way – they are competing in just their second one-day World Cup in the end – but poor fielding is a prominent issue which needs improvement.