Sri Lanka beats the Bangladeshi side to preserve their campaign breathing

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 win by seven runs

The Lankan cricket team secured four wickets in the decisive over to seal a heart-stopping triumph over their opponents and maintain their slim hopes of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals alive.

Needing a attainable total of 203 on a good batting surface in the Mumbai stadium, the Bangladeshi team wanted nine more runs from the remaining six balls.

Yet, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu took three important dismissals in four deliveries and de Silva ran out Nahida Akter to achieve a exciting victory for Sri Lanka.

The win – Sri Lanka's initial of the World Cup after three unsuccessful matches and two abandoned games against Australia and the Kiwi side – elevates them tied on four match points with India and the New Zealand side, who face each other on the coming Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, however, experienced a fifth straight setback since securing victory in their initial game against the Pakistani team and have been eliminated.

Although Bangladesh got off to the excellent commencement, with Marufa striking with the initial ball of the match to send back Gunaratne, they were appropriately punished for a poor fielding display.

They offered reprieves to Hasini Perera, who was spilled on three occasions, and Athapaththu.

Even though the Sri Lankan skipper failed to make it count, sent back lbw for 46 just one delivery after being put down by Rabeya, Perera forced the opposition suffer.

She achieved a maiden international half-century, making 85 from 99 deliveries and building an significant 74-run partnership fifth-wicket with De Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, guided by Shorna's three wickets for 27 runs, fought themselves back in the game, with De Silva's wicket in the 34th bowling segment causing a Lankan downfall from 174-4 to 202 total.

In reply, Sri Lanka's opening bowlers Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani contained the opposition to 23 for one in a uninspiring initial phase and they were subsequently reduced to 44 with three wickets lost.

Sharmin Akter and Joty restored their innings, putting on 82 runs for the fourth wicket before Sharmin withdrew due to injury for a determined 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was in favor of Bangladesh heading into the final two overs, with only 12 additional runs necessary.

Yet, Dasanayaka removed Ritu and conceded merely three runs before Athapaththu's dramatic spell, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa all removed as the Lankan team snatched the win at the final moment.

Finally, it was a match of nerves. The highly experienced Athapaththu, who ushered away a several of fellow players as she set herself to deliver the decisive over, maintained hers. The opposition did not.

There will be plenty of doubts about the team's batting effort. They might well have been needing 270 to 280 with the Lankan team appearing comfortable on 159 for four in the 30th bowling phase, but rather the required total was significantly less.

However, Bangladesh showed little aggression from the very beginning, making runs at less than 2.5 runs each over during the initial phase, suffering a early batting collapse, and finally making themselves too much to do.

But no matter what issues there are with their batting approach, if they had accepted their opportunities in the field, that 203 total objective would have been considerably less.

It took them three attempts to end the 72-run second-wicket, with wicketkeeper Joty being unable to hold a challenging catch as wicketkeeper to send back Perera on 23 runs before Athapaththu survived from a return catch chance against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was spilled further on 55 and 63 runs, the latter chance flying straight to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover position, before finally being dismissed leg before wicket by Shorna as she attempted to up the ante with teammates being dismissed near her.

Subsequently in the innings, there was additionally a failed stumping and a failed run-out, while the second one was a little regrettable, with Rubya Haider standing in with the keeping duties following an injury to the regular keeper.

Regrettably for the team, such fielding woes are not at all a single occurrence. They've missed 14 catches from a possible 27 chances at this World Cup and boast the lowest catching success rate (48.1 percent) of the participating teams.

They are a team who are overall progressing in the right direction – they are playing in merely their second one-day World Cup in the end – but substandard fielding standards is a obvious problem which needs attention.