Sri Lanka defeats the Bangladeshi side to maintain their campaign ongoing

ICC Women's World Cup, Navi 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); Athapaththu 4-42

The Lankan side win by seven runs

Sri Lanka secured four crucial dismissals in the decisive innings segment to achieve a nail-biting victory over their opponents and maintain their narrow chances of making it for the tournament knockout stage ongoing.

Chasing a below-par target of 203 on a good batting surface in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh needed nine additional runs from the remaining six bowls.

However, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu took three important dismissals in four balls and de Silva ran out Nahida to bring about a thrilling win for Sri Lanka.

The win – the Lankan team's maiden of the World Cup after three defeats and two abandoned games against the Australian team and the Kiwi side – pushes them level on four tournament points with India and the New Zealand side, who face each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, suffered a fifth straight loss since securing victory in their tournament opener against Pakistan and have been eliminated.

Even though the Bangladeshi side made the excellent commencement, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the first delivery of the game to dismiss Gunaratne, they were rightfully made to pay for a disappointing fielding display.

They gifted lifelines to Perera, who was missed on three occasions, and Athapaththu.

Even though the Sri Lankan skipper failed to capitalise, sent back lbw for 46 just one delivery after being put down by Rabeya, Hasini Perera made the opposition pay.

She achieved a first international fifty, accumulating 85 from 99 balls and contributing to an significant 74-run stand fifth-wicket with De Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, guided by Shorna's impressive bowling figures, pulled themselves back to the contest, with De Silva's removal in the 34th innings segment causing a Lankan downfall from 174 with four wickets down to 202 complete.

During their chase, Sri Lanka's initial pace attack Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani restricted the opposition to 23 for one in a lacklustre opening overs and they were subsequently reduced to 44 with three wickets lost.

Sharmin Akter and Nigar Sultana Joty restored their score, putting on an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket stand before the batter retired hurt for a determined 64 in the 36th over.

It was leaning toward Bangladesh heading into the final two bowling phases, with merely 12 runs needed.

Yet, Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu and conceded only three runs before the captain's dramatic spell, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa all dismissed as the Lankan team snatched the victory at the death.

In the end, it was a contest of nerves. The very experienced Lankan captain, who ushered away a few of fellow players as she got ready to bowl the last over, kept her composure. Bangladesh did not.

There will be many questions about the team's batting performance. They might well have been needing 270 to 280 with the Lankan team looking at ease on 159-4 in the 30th bowling phase, but rather the required total was considerably smaller.

However, the batting side lacked intent from the start, scoring at less than 2.5 scoring rate during the initial phase, experiencing a early batting collapse, and ultimately forcing themselves too much to accomplish.

But no matter what problems there are with their batting approach, if they had seized their catches in the fielding department, that 203-run target would have been substantially less.

It took them three tries to break the 72-run second-wicket association, with keeper Nigar Sultana being unable to take a difficult opportunity while keeping to remove Perera on 23 before Athapaththu was spared from a return catch chance against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was missed further on 55 runs and her score of 63, the latter chance traveling straight to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover field, before finally being trapped leg before wicket by Shorna as she tried to up the ante with batting partners getting out around her.

Later in the innings, there was additionally a failed stumping and a failed run-out, although the run-out chance was a little unlucky, with Jhilik standing in with the wicketkeeping gloves following an physical problem to Joty.

Regrettably for the team, such fielding woes are far from a single occurrence. They've dropped 14 opportunities from a possible 27 opportunities at this competition and have the worst catching success rate (48.1 percent) of the eight teams.

They are a team who are typically progressing in the proper way – they are participating in merely their second 50-over World Cup in the end – but substandard fielding is a prominent concern which requires focus.