Sri Lanka overcomes Bangladesh to keep their campaign ongoing

Women's Cricket World Cup, Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side win by seven runs

The Lankan cricket team claimed four wickets in the last innings segment to complete a heart-stopping triumph over their opponents and maintain their faint chances of making it for the tournament knockout stage intact.

Chasing a attainable target of 203 on a favorable wicket in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team required nine additional runs from the last six balls.

However, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu took three important dismissals in four balls and Nilakshi de Silva ran out Nahida to achieve a dramatic success for the Lankan team.

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

Bangladesh, in contrast, suffered a fifth straight setback since winning their first match against the Pakistani team and have been eliminated.

While the Bangladeshi side got off to the perfect start, with Marufa striking with the initial ball of the match to send back Gunaratne, they were deservedly made to pay for a poor fielding effort.

They offered second chances to Perera, who was spilled on three occasions, and the Lankan captain.

Even though Athapaththu was unable to capitalise, dismissed lbw for 46 a single bowl after being missed by Rabeya, Hasini Perera made Bangladesh regret it.

She achieved a debut international half-century, making 85 from 99 deliveries and contributing to an significant 74-run stand fifth-wicket association with De Silva.

Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna's three wickets for 27 runs, pulled themselves back to the game, with De Silva's wicket in the 34th innings segment initiating a Lankan batting collapse from 174 with four wickets down to 202 complete.

While batting second, Sri Lanka's starting bowlers Madara and Prabodhani limited Bangladesh to 23 for one in a uninspiring opening overs and they were later reduced to 44 for three.

Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty rebuilt their innings, adding 82 runs for the fourth wicket before Sharmin retired hurt for a determined 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was advantage the chasing team heading into the final two overs, with just 12 runs necessary.

Nevertheless, Sugandika Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu Moni and allowed just three scoring runs before Athapaththu's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa all sent back as the Lankan team seized the victory at the very end.

In the end, it was a contest of nerve. The highly experienced Lankan captain, who ushered away a handful of fellow players as she set herself to deliver the final over, maintained her nerve. The opposition could not.

There will be plenty of doubts about Bangladesh's batting effort. They possibly have been needing 270 to 280 with the Lankan team looking comfortable on 159-4 in the 30th bowling phase, but instead the required total was significantly less.

Nevertheless, Bangladesh lacked intent from the very beginning, making runs at under 2.5 runs each over during the opening overs, undergoing a initial wicket loss, and finally making themselves excessive to achieve.

But no matter what issues there are with their batting lineup, if they had taken their opportunities in the fielding area, that 203-run target would have been significantly smaller.

It took them three attempts to terminate the 72-run second-wicket, with keeper Joty not managing to take a tough chance behind the stumps to send back Perera on 23 runs before the captain was spared from a return catch opportunity against Rabeya.

The batter was spilled once more on 55 runs and 63 runs, the final opportunity flying directly to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover field, before eventually being dismissed lbw by Shorna Akter as she attempted to up the ante with partners falling beside her.

Later in the game, there was also a missed stumping and a failed run-out, even though the latter was a slightly unfortunate, with Jhilik substituting with the gloves following an injury to the regular keeper.

Sadly for the team, such fielding woes are far from a single occurrence. They've failed to catch 14 chances from a available 27 at this tournament and have the poorest fielding effectiveness (48.1 percent) of the participating teams.

They are a squad who are overall progressing in the proper way – they are competing in merely their second 50-over World Cup in the end – but substandard fielding standards is a prominent concern which demands improvement.