The Lankan team defeats the Bangladeshi side to keep their campaign breathing

Women's Cricket World Cup, Mumbai

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

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

Sri Lanka emerge victorious by seven runs margin

The Lankan cricket team secured four crucial dismissals in the decisive over to achieve a nail-biting win over Bangladesh and preserve their slim hopes of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals ongoing.

Needing a below-par total of 203 on a good batting surface in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh wanted nine additional runs from the last six deliveries.

However, Lankan skipper Athapaththu took three crucial wickets in four balls and Nilakshi de Silva ran out Nahida to secure a thrilling victory for Sri Lanka.

The triumph – Sri Lanka's first of the competition after three defeats and two abandoned games against Australia and New Zealand – pushes them equal on four tournament points with India and the New Zealand side, who meet each other on the coming Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, in contrast, endured a fifth successive defeat since winning their first match against the Pakistani team and have been removed from contention.

Although the Bangladeshi side made the perfect start, with Marufa taking a wicket with the initial ball of the match to send back Gunaratne, they were appropriately made to pay for a subpar fielding display.

They gifted second chances to Hasini Perera, who was dropped multiple times, and the Lankan captain.

While the Sri Lankan skipper failed to make it count, removed lbw for 46 one ball after being missed by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera made Bangladesh pay.

She registered a debut international half-century, making 85 from 99 balls and building an crucial 74-run fifth-wicket association with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, guided by Shorna's impressive bowling figures, fought themselves back into the game, with Nilakshi's wicket in the 34th innings segment triggering a Sri Lanka batting collapse from 174 with four wickets down to 202 total.

In reply, Sri Lanka's starting bowlers Malki Madara and Prabodhani restricted the opposition to 23-1 in a disappointing powerplay and they were later diminished to 44 for three.

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

It was leaning toward Bangladesh heading into the remaining two innings segments, with only 12 runs needed.

Nevertheless, Sugandika Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu Moni and gave away merely three runs before Athapaththu's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida Akter, captain Joty and Marufa all dismissed as the Lankan team grabbed the triumph at the very end.

Finally, it was a contest of nerves. The highly experienced Athapaththu, who directed away a few of fellow players as she prepared to deliver the final over, held hers. The opposition did not.

There will be plenty of questions about the team's batting performance. They possibly have been pursuing 270 to 280 with Sri Lanka looking at ease on 159-4 in the 30th over, but rather the target was significantly less.

However, the batting side lacked aggression from the very beginning, making runs at under 2.5 runs each over during the opening overs, suffering a top-order collapse, and eventually forcing themselves too much to achieve.

But whatever problems there are with their batting approach, if they had accepted their catches in the fielding area, that 203 total objective would have been significantly lower.

It took them three efforts to end the 72-run partnership second-wicket collaboration, with keeper Nigar Sultana failing to grab a difficult chance as wicketkeeper to dismiss Perera on 23 runs before Athapaththu got a reprieve from a caught and bowled possibility against Rabeya.

Perera was dropped further on 55 runs and 63, the last attempt traveling directly to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before eventually being given out lbw by Shorna as she attempted to accelerate the scoring with partners falling near her.

Later in the innings, there was additionally a missed stumping and a failed run-out, even though the latter was a little unfortunate, with Rubya Haider deputising with the keeping duties following an physical problem to Joty.

Unfortunately for the team, such fielding problems are not at all a isolated incident. They've missed 14 chances from a possible 27 at this World Cup and boast the worst catching success rate (less than 50%) of the competing sides.

They are a team who are generally moving in the correct path – they are participating in just their second ODI World Cup ultimately – but poor fielding is a obvious problem which demands focus.