The Lankan team overcomes the Bangladeshi side to maintain their campaign ongoing

ICC Women's World Cup, Navi Mumbai

The Lankan team 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

Sri Lanka claimed four crucial dismissals in the last over to complete a thrilling victory over Bangladesh and preserve their slim chances of making it for the tournament knockout stage alive.

Pursuing a modest total of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh required nine additional runs from the remaining six balls.

Yet, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu took three wickets in four deliveries and Nilakshi de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to achieve a exciting win for the Lankan team.

The victory – the Lankan team's maiden of the competition after three defeats and two washed-out matches against Australia and the Kiwi side – pushes them level on four points with India and New Zealand, who face each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, in contrast, experienced a fifth straight defeat since securing victory in their tournament opener against the Pakistani team and have been removed from contention.

Even though Bangladesh got off to the ideal beginning, with Marufa taking a wicket with the opening bowl of the encounter to remove Vishmi Gunaratne, they were deservedly penalized for a disappointing fielding display.

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

Even though Athapaththu could not make it count, dismissed leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being missed by Rabeya Khan, Perera made Bangladesh pay.

She achieved a debut international fifty, scoring 85 from 99 deliveries and contributing to an crucial 74-run stand fifth-wicket association with Nilakshi de Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, guided by Shorna's three wickets for 27 runs, pulled themselves back into the game, with De Silva's wicket in the 34th over initiating a Sri Lanka collapse from 174-4 to 202 all out.

While batting second, Sri Lanka's opening bowlers Malki Madara and Prabodhani contained the opposition to 23 for one in a uninspiring opening overs and they were afterwards reduced to 44 with three wickets lost.

Sharmin and Joty reconstructed their score, adding 82 for the fourth wicket collaboration before the batter left the field injured for a determined 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was advantage the chasing team approaching the last two innings segments, with only 12 additional runs required.

Yet, Sugandika Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu Moni and conceded only three runs before the captain's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all sent back as Sri Lanka seized the triumph at the death.

Finally, it was a game of nerves. The highly experienced Lankan captain, who directed away a several of team-mates as she prepared to deliver the last over, maintained her composure. The opposition did not.

There will be many doubts about the team's batting effort. They could easily have been chasing 270 or 280 with the Lankan team looking at ease on 159 for four in the 30th innings segment, but rather the required total was much lower.

However, Bangladesh displayed insufficient intent from the start, making runs at under 2.5 runs each over during the opening overs, undergoing a early batting collapse, and ultimately leaving themselves excessive to do.

But whatever difficulties there are with their batting, if they had seized their catches in the fielding department, that 203-run target goal would have been considerably less.

It took them three attempts to terminate the 72-run second-wicket association, with keeper Nigar Sultana being unable to grab a difficult catch as wicketkeeper to dismiss Perera on 23 before Athapaththu survived from a caught and bowled chance possibility against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was spilled once more on 55 and 63, the last attempt flying right to Jhilik at cover position, before eventually being trapped leg before wicket by Shorna Akter as she sought to up the ante with batting partners being dismissed beside her.

Afterwards in the game, there was additionally a missed stumping and a failed run-out, while the second one was a little unlucky, with Jhilik standing in with the keeping duties after an fitness issue to the regular keeper.

Unfortunately for the team, such fielding issues are not at all a isolated incident. They've dropped 14 chances from a potential 27 opportunities at this tournament and display the poorest catch efficiency (48.1 percent) of the participating teams.

They are a team who are typically moving in the right direction – they are participating in just their second one-day World Cup in the end – but inadequate fielding standards is a glaring concern which requires focus.