The Lankan team beats Bangladesh to keep their campaign breathing

ICC Women's World Cup, Mumbai

The Lankan team 202 (48.4 overs): Hasini Perera 85 (99); Shorna 3-27

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

Sri Lanka win by seven runs

The Lankan cricket team took four wickets in the final over to achieve a heart-stopping win over their opponents and keep their slim chances of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals ongoing.

Pursuing a below-par target of 203 on a good batting surface in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh wanted nine more runs from the final six balls.

Nevertheless, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu secured three crucial wickets in four balls and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida to secure a exciting victory for the Lankan team.

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

Bangladesh, on the other hand, endured a fifth straight loss since securing victory in their first match against the Pakistani team and have been removed from contention.

While the Bangladeshi side got off to the excellent commencement, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the first delivery of the encounter to remove Vishmi Gunaratne, they were rightfully punished for a subpar fielding performance.

They provided lifelines to Perera, who was dropped on three occasions, and Athapaththu.

Although Athapaththu failed to make it count, removed lbw for 46 one ball after being missed by Rabeya, Perera made the opposition pay.

She registered a maiden international fifty, making 85 from 99 deliveries and contributing to an important 74-run stand fifth-wicket with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, led by Shorna Akter's 3-27, pulled themselves back into the match, with De Silva's dismissal in the 34th over initiating a Lankan collapse from 174-4 to 202 total.

During their chase, the Lankan team's initial pace attack Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani limited Bangladesh to 23-1 in a lacklustre opening overs and they were later reduced to 44-3.

Sharmin Akter and Nigar Sultana Joty reconstructed their batting effort, putting on an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket stand before the batter withdrew due to injury for a determined 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was in favor of the chasing team approaching the remaining two innings segments, with merely 12 more runs required.

However, Sugandika Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu Moni and gave away just three runs before the captain's dramatic spell, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all sent back as Sri Lanka seized the victory at the very end.

Finally, it was a contest of composure. The highly experienced Athapaththu, who directed away a several of team-mates as she set herself to deliver the last over, held her composure. The opposition could not.

There will be plenty of doubts about the team's batting performance. They possibly have been needing 270 to 280 with the Lankan team seeming at ease on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th bowling phase, but in contrast the required total was considerably smaller.

Nevertheless, Bangladesh displayed insufficient aggression from the start, accumulating runs at less than 2.5 runs each over during the opening overs, suffering a initial wicket loss, and eventually forcing themselves too much to accomplish.

But whatever difficulties there are with their batting lineup, if they had accepted their chances in the fielding department, that 203-run target goal would have been significantly lower.

It needed them three tries to terminate the 72-run partnership second-wicket collaboration, with wicketkeeper Nigar Sultana not managing to grab a difficult opportunity as wicketkeeper to dismiss Hasini Perera on 23 before the captain was spared from a caught and bowled chance chance against Rabeya.

Perera was dropped further on her score of 55 and 63, the last attempt going right to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before finally being dismissed lbw by Shorna Akter as she tried to increase the tempo with batting partners getting out near her.

Afterwards in the batting effort, there was also a stumping chance missed and a run-out opportunity lost, although the latter was a slightly regrettable, with Jhilik substituting with the wicketkeeping gloves after an injury to Joty.

Regrettably for Bangladesh, such fielding problems are not at all a isolated incident. They've missed 14 opportunities from a available 27 at this tournament and display the poorest catching success rate (less than 50%) of the competing sides.

They are a side who are overall heading in the right direction – they are participating in just their second ODI World Cup after all – but poor fielding performance is a obvious issue which demands focus.