Sri Lanka defeats the Bangladeshi side to keep their campaign alive

ICC Women's World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

Sri Lanka emerge victorious by seven runs margin

Sri Lanka took four crucial dismissals in the final innings segment to seal a nail-biting victory over their opponents and preserve their faint aspirations of making it for the World Cup semi-finals alive.

Pursuing a below-par total of 203 on a good batting surface in the Mumbai stadium, the Bangladeshi team needed nine more runs from the final six deliveries.

However, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu claimed three important dismissals in four balls and Nilakshi de Silva ran out Nahida Akter to achieve a dramatic victory for the Lankan team.

The win – the Lankan team's initial of the competition after three unsuccessful matches and two abandoned games against the Australian team and the Kiwi side – moves them equal on four match points with the Indian team and the New Zealand side, who face each other on Thursday.

Bangladesh, in contrast, endured a fifth straight defeat since winning their initial game against the Pakistani team and have been knocked out.

While the Bangladeshi side got off to the ideal beginning, with Marufa taking a wicket with the first delivery of the match to dismiss Vishmi Gunaratne, they were appropriately made to pay for a poor fielding effort.

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

Although Athapaththu was unable to capitalise, dismissed lbw for 46 a single bowl after being put down by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera made the opposition suffer.

She scored a first international half-century, scoring 85 from 99 bowls and sharing an important 74-run fifth-wicket association with Nilakshi de Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, spearheaded by Shorna Akter's impressive bowling figures, dragged themselves back into the match, with Nilakshi's removal in the 34th over initiating a Sri Lanka collapse from 174-4 to 202 total.

While batting second, the Lankan team's initial pace attack Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani restricted Bangladesh to 23 with one wicket down in a disappointing powerplay and they were subsequently diminished to 44 for three.

Sharmin and Joty restored their batting effort, putting on 82 for the fourth wicket collaboration before the batter retired hurt for a resolute 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was in favor of Bangladesh entering the final two bowling phases, with just 12 additional runs necessary.

Yet, Dasanayaka removed Ritu Moni and allowed only three runs before Athapaththu's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa all sent back as the Lankan team grabbed the victory at the death.

Finally, it was a contest of nerves. The very experienced Athapaththu, who directed away a handful of team-mates as she got ready to deliver the last over, held her nerve. Bangladesh failed to.

There will be plenty of doubts about the team's batting effort. They might well have been pursuing 270 to 280 with the Lankan team appearing comfortable on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th innings segment, but instead the target was much lower.

However, Bangladesh showed little aggression from the very beginning, making runs at less than 2.5 runs each over during the initial phase, undergoing a early batting collapse, and finally leaving themselves too much to accomplish.

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

It required them three attempts to terminate the 72-run partnership second-wicket collaboration, with wicketkeeper Joty being unable to hold a tough chance as wicketkeeper to remove Hasini Perera on 23 before the captain survived from a caught and bowled chance opportunity against Rabeya.

The batter was missed once more on 55 runs and 63 runs, the last attempt going right to Jhilik at cover position, before eventually being given out lbw by Shorna Akter as she attempted to up the ante with teammates being dismissed around her.

Afterwards in the innings, there was furthermore a failed stumping and a failed run-out, although the run-out chance was a little regrettable, with Rubya Haider deputising with the wicketkeeping gloves following an injury to the regular keeper.

Sadly for the team, such fielding problems are far from a single occurrence. They've dropped 14 opportunities from a potential 27 at this tournament and boast the worst catch efficiency (48.1%) of the competing sides.

They are a side who are generally progressing in the proper way – they are participating in just their second ODI World Cup in the end – but substandard fielding is a prominent issue which demands focus.