Sri Lanka overcomes Bangladesh to preserve their tournament hopes alive

ICC Women's World Cup, Navi Mumbai

Sri Lanka 202 (48.4 overs): Hasini Perera 85 (99); Shorna Akter 3-27

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

Sri Lanka win by seven runs

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

Pursuing a below-par score of 203 on a good batting surface in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team required nine runs from the final six balls.

Yet, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu claimed three wickets in four balls and Nilakshi de Silva ran out Nahida Akter to secure a dramatic victory for Sri Lanka.

The win – the Lankan team's initial of the World Cup after three losses and two no-results against the Australian team and the Kiwi side – pushes them tied on four match points with the Indian team and the New Zealand side, who meet each other on the coming Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, in contrast, suffered a fifth successive loss since securing victory in their tournament opener against the Pakistani team and have been eliminated.

Even though Bangladesh made the perfect start, with Marufa striking with the first delivery of the match to remove Vishmi Gunaratne, they were rightfully made to pay for a disappointing fielding effort.

They offered lifelines to Hasini Perera, who was spilled multiple times, and Athapaththu.

Even though Athapaththu could not capitalise, sent back lbw for 46 a single bowl after being dropped by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera made Bangladesh pay.

She achieved a maiden international 50-run score, scoring 85 from 99 bowls and sharing an significant 74-run fifth-wicket collaboration with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna's 3-27, fought themselves back to the match, with Nilakshi's wicket in the 34th over initiating a Sri Lanka downfall from 174-4 to 202 complete.

In reply, Sri Lanka's starting bowlers Malki Madara and Prabodhani restricted Bangladesh to 23-1 in a lacklustre opening overs and they were afterwards diminished to 44-3.

Sharmin Akter and Nigar Sultana Joty restored their batting effort, adding 82 for the fourth wicket before Sharmin left the field injured for a determined 64 in the 36th over.

It was in favor of the chasing team entering the last two innings segments, with just 12 more runs necessary.

However, Dasanayaka removed Ritu Moni and gave away merely three scoring runs before the captain's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa all removed as Sri Lanka grabbed the triumph at the death.

Ultimately, it was a match of nerve. The highly experienced Lankan captain, who directed away a several of teammates as she prepared to bowl the last over, held her nerve. Bangladesh could not.

There will be plenty of questions about the team's batting performance. They could easily have been pursuing 270 to 280 with Sri Lanka appearing settled on 159 for four in the 30th bowling phase, but in contrast the required total was considerably smaller.

Nevertheless, Bangladesh showed little intent from the very beginning, scoring at under 2.5 runs each over during the initial phase, undergoing a initial wicket loss, and finally making themselves too much to do.

But no matter what difficulties there are with their batting, if they had taken their catches in the fielding department, that 203-run target objective would have been significantly lower.

It needed them three efforts to end the 72-run partnership second-wicket, with wicketkeeper Joty being unable to hold a challenging chance behind the stumps to dismiss Hasini Perera on 23 before Athapaththu got a reprieve from a caught and bowled opportunity against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was dropped further on 55 runs and 63 runs, the final opportunity going straight to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover position, before eventually being trapped leg before wicket by Shorna as she attempted to up the ante with teammates getting out around her.

Later in the innings, there was additionally a stumping chance missed and a run-out opportunity lost, even though the second one was a slightly regrettable, with Jhilik substituting with the gloves following an fitness issue to Joty.

Sadly for the team, such fielding problems are far from a single occurrence. They've missed 14 catches from a possible 27 chances at this competition and boast the poorest catch efficiency (less than 50%) of the competing sides.

They are a team who are typically moving in the right direction – they are competing in only their second ODI World Cup in the end – but poor fielding standards is a obvious concern which demands focus.