Sri Lanka beats Bangladesh to preserve their World Cup campaign ongoing

Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai

The Lankan team 202 (48.4 overs): 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

Sri Lanka secured four crucial dismissals in the final innings segment to achieve a heart-stopping victory over Bangladesh and preserve their slim hopes of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals ongoing.

Needing a attainable total of 203 on a favorable wicket in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team wanted nine additional runs from the remaining six bowls.

However, Lankan skipper Athapaththu took three important dismissals in four bowls and Nilakshi de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to secure a exciting victory for Sri Lanka.

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

The Bangladeshi team, in contrast, endured a fifth straight loss since winning their tournament opener against Pakistan and have been knocked out.

Even though the Bangladeshi side got off to the perfect start, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the initial ball of the encounter to remove Gunaratne, they were appropriately punished for a poor fielding performance.

They offered reprieves to Hasini Perera, who was missed on three occasions, and the Lankan captain.

Although the Sri Lankan skipper was unable to capitalise, dismissed leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being put down by Rabeya, Perera forced Bangladesh pay.

She achieved a first international half-century, accumulating 85 from 99 bowls and contributing to an important 74-run partnership fifth-wicket collaboration with Nilakshi de Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, guided by Shorna Akter's three wickets for 27 runs, fought themselves back into the game, with De Silva's dismissal in the 34th bowling segment causing a Sri Lanka collapse from 174 for four to 202 total.

In reply, Sri Lanka's starting bowlers Malki Madara and Prabodhani restricted Bangladesh to 23 for one in a uninspiring powerplay and they were later reduced to 44 for three.

Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty rebuilt their batting effort, contributing 82 for the fourth wicket collaboration before the batter retired hurt for a determined 64 in the 36th over.

It was in favor of Bangladesh entering the remaining two bowling phases, with only 12 additional runs required.

Nevertheless, Sugandika Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu Moni and gave away just three runs before Athapaththu's decisive intervention, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all removed as the Lankan team seized the triumph at the final moment.

In the end, it was a game of composure. The seasoned Lankan captain, who moved aside a handful of teammates as she got ready to bowl the last over, held hers. Bangladesh could not.

There will be plenty of inquiries about the team's batting display. They possibly have been pursuing 270 or 280 with the Lankan team seeming settled on 159 for four in the 30th bowling phase, but in contrast the chase was much lower.

Yet, Bangladesh lacked aggression from the very beginning, making runs at under 2.5 runs each over during the opening overs, undergoing a top-order collapse, and finally leaving themselves overwhelming to do.

But whatever issues there are with their batting lineup, if they had taken their catches in the fielding area, that 203-run target goal would have been substantially smaller.

It needed them three tries to end the 72-run second-wicket, with wicketkeeper Joty not managing to hold a challenging chance as wicketkeeper to remove Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu survived from a caught and bowled chance against Rabeya.

Perera was spilled further on her score of 55 and 63, the last attempt flying directly to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before ultimately being trapped lbw by Shorna Akter as she sought to accelerate the scoring with batting partners being dismissed near her.

Later in the innings, there was also a missed stumping and a failed run-out, although the latter was a somewhat unfortunate, with Jhilik standing in with the keeping duties following an injury to Joty.

Sadly for Bangladesh, such fielding woes are far from a isolated incident. They've missed 14 catches from a possible 27 at this World Cup and have the worst catch efficiency (48.1%) of the participating teams.

They are a side who are generally progressing in the right direction – they are competing in just their second ODI World Cup ultimately – but inadequate fielding performance is a glaring issue which demands improvement.