The Lankan team defeats Bangladesh to maintain their campaign breathing

Women's Cricket 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): Nigar Sultana Joty 77 (98); Athapaththu 4-42

The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs margin

The Lankan cricket team claimed four crucial dismissals in the last innings segment to achieve a thrilling triumph over their opponents and keep their narrow chances of qualifying for the tournament knockout stage ongoing.

Pursuing a modest target of 203 on a favorable wicket in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team required nine more runs from the final six deliveries.

Nevertheless, Lankan skipper Athapaththu claimed three wickets in four deliveries and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida to secure a dramatic win for Sri Lanka.

The win – the Lankan team's maiden of the competition after three losses and two washed-out matches against the Australian team and New Zealand – pushes them tied on four tournament points with India and the New Zealand side, who confront each other on Thursday.

Bangladesh, in contrast, experienced a fifth consecutive defeat since securing victory in their tournament opener against the Pakistani team and have been knocked out.

Even though the Bangladeshi side made the ideal beginning, with Marufa Akter striking with the opening bowl of the encounter to remove Vishmi Gunaratne, they were rightfully penalized for a poor fielding performance.

They gifted second chances to Perera, who was spilled multiple times, and Athapaththu.

While Athapaththu failed to capitalise, dismissed leg before wicket for 46 one ball after being missed by Rabeya, Hasini Perera made the opposition suffer.

She achieved a debut international 50-run score, accumulating 85 from 99 deliveries and sharing an significant 74-run fifth-wicket association with De Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, led by Shorna's three wickets for 27 runs, dragged themselves back into the game, with De Silva's wicket in the 34th bowling segment initiating a Sri Lanka collapse from 174-4 to 202 complete.

While batting second, Sri Lanka's opening bowlers Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani restricted Bangladesh to 23 with one wicket down in a disappointing initial phase and they were subsequently brought down to 44-3.

Sharmin Akter and Joty rebuilt their innings, putting on 82 runs for the fourth wicket collaboration before Sharmin left the field injured for a determined 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was in favor of Bangladesh approaching the last two innings segments, with only 12 runs necessary.

Yet, Sugandika Dasanayaka sent back Ritu and gave away merely three scoring runs before the captain's dramatic spell, with Rabeya, Nahida Akter, captain Joty and Marufa all removed as the Lankan team seized the triumph at the very end.

In the end, it was a match of composure. The highly experienced Lankan captain, who directed away a several of team-mates as she got ready to bowl the last over, maintained her composure. The opposition could not.

There will be many inquiries about Bangladesh's batting display. They could easily have been pursuing 270 to 280 with the Lankan team appearing at ease on 159-4 in the 30th over, but in contrast the target was considerably smaller.

Yet, the batting side displayed insufficient intent from the very beginning, scoring at less than 2.5 runs per over during the opening overs, suffering a top-order collapse, and finally forcing themselves excessive to accomplish.

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

It took them three tries to terminate the 72-run second-wicket collaboration, with wicketkeeper Nigar Sultana failing to take a difficult opportunity as wicketkeeper to remove Perera on 23 before Athapaththu survived from a return catch possibility against Rabeya.

The batter was missed once more on her score of 55 and 63 runs, the final opportunity traveling straight to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before finally being given out lbw by Shorna Akter as she tried to increase the tempo with batting partners getting out around her.

Later in the game, there was additionally a failed stumping and a failed run-out, although the latter was a slightly regrettable, with Rubya Haider substituting with the keeping duties due to an fitness issue to the regular keeper.

Unfortunately for Bangladesh, such fielding issues are not at all a one-off. They've dropped 14 chances from a available 27 at this competition and boast the lowest catching success rate (48.1%) of the participating teams.

They are a team who are typically heading in the correct path – they are participating in merely their second ODI World Cup ultimately – but substandard fielding standards is a prominent problem which requires attention.