The Lankan team overcomes the Bangladeshi side to keep their campaign ongoing
The Lankan team will confront the Pakistani side in their crucial last tournament encounter
Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai
Sri Lanka 202 (48.4 overs): Perera 85 (99); Shorna 3-27
Bangladesh 195-9 (50 overs): Joty 77 (98); Athapaththu 4-42
The Lankan side win by seven runs
The Lankan cricket team secured four crucial dismissals in the final over to achieve a nail-biting triumph over Bangladesh and keep their faint chances of making it for the World Cup semi-finals alive.
Chasing a below-par score of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team wanted nine additional runs from the last six bowls.
However, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu took three crucial wickets in four deliveries and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to bring about a thrilling success for the Lankan team.
The victory – the Lankan team's first of the competition after three unsuccessful matches and two no-results against the Australian team and New Zealand – elevates them equal on four match points with the Indian team and New Zealand, who confront each other on Thursday.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, experienced a fifth straight defeat since winning their tournament opener against the Pakistani team and have been removed from contention.
Although Bangladesh made the perfect start, with Marufa striking with the initial ball of the encounter to remove Gunaratne, they were appropriately made to pay for a subpar fielding performance.
They provided reprieves to Hasini Perera, who was spilled multiple times, and the Lankan captain.
Although Athapaththu could not make it count, removed leg before wicket for 46 one ball after being put down by Rabeya Khan, Perera made the opposition regret it.
She scored a first international fifty, scoring 85 from 99 bowls and contributing to an important 74-run stand fifth-wicket association with De Silva.
The Bangladeshi team, guided by Shorna Akter's 3-27, fought themselves back to the match, with De Silva's dismissal in the 34th bowling segment causing a Sri Lanka collapse from 174 for four to 202 complete.
During their chase, Sri Lanka's opening bowlers Malki Madara and Prabodhani limited Bangladesh to 23 for one in a uninspiring opening overs and they were later diminished to 44-3.
Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty reconstructed their innings, adding 82 for the fourth wicket collaboration before the batter left the field injured for a resolute 64 in the 36th bowling phase.
It was leaning toward the chasing team approaching the remaining two bowling phases, with just 12 additional runs necessary.
Yet, Sugandika Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu and allowed just three runs before the captain's dramatic spell, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa all removed as the Lankan team seized the win at the death.
The Bangladeshi team cannot keep calm - and catches
In the end, it was a game of composure. The very experienced Athapaththu, who moved aside a few of teammates as she prepared to bowl the last over, held her composure. Bangladesh failed to.
There will be many doubts about the team's batting effort. They might well have been needing 270 or 280 with the Lankan team looking settled on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th innings segment, but instead the target was significantly less.
Yet, Bangladesh lacked purpose from the start, making runs at below 2.5 runs each over during the powerplay, experiencing a top-order collapse, and ultimately forcing themselves too much to accomplish.
But no matter what difficulties there are with their batting approach, if they had seized their catches in the fielding area, that 203-run target target would have been considerably lower.
It needed them three attempts to end the 72-run stand second-wicket association, with wicketkeeper Joty failing to grab a challenging chance behind the stumps to send back Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu was spared from a caught and bowled chance chance against Rabeya Khan.
Perera was spilled once more on her score of 55 and 63, the latter chance traveling directly to Jhilik at cover position, before eventually being given out leg before wicket by Shorna as she tried to increase the tempo with teammates being dismissed near her.
Afterwards in the game, there was furthermore a missed stumping and a run-out opportunity lost, even though the run-out chance was a somewhat regrettable, with Rubya Haider deputising with the wicketkeeping gloves after an injury to the regular keeper.
Sadly for the team, such fielding issues are nowhere near a one-off. They've dropped 14 chances from a available 27 chances at this competition and boast the poorest fielding effectiveness (less than 50%) of the competing sides.
They are a squad who are overall moving in the right direction – they are competing in just their second one-day World Cup ultimately – but poor fielding is a prominent concern which needs focus.
