The Lankan team defeats the Bangladeshi side to preserve their World Cup campaign alive

Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai

Sri Lanka 202 (48.4 overs): Perera 85 (99); Shorna 3-27

The Bangladeshi team 195-9 (50 overs): Nigar Sultana Joty 77 (98); Chamari Athapaththu 4-42

Sri Lanka emerge victorious by seven runs margin

Sri Lanka secured four crucial dismissals in the last over to achieve a nail-biting triumph over their opponents and preserve their faint chances of making it for the World Cup semi-finals intact.

Chasing a modest score of 203 on a good batting surface in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh needed nine runs from the final six balls.

Nevertheless, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu took three crucial wickets in four balls and Nilakshi de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida to secure a thrilling success for the Lankan team.

The triumph – the Lankan team's first of the World Cup after three defeats and two washed-out matches against Australia and New Zealand – pushes them tied on four points with India and the New Zealand side, who confront each other on the coming Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, in contrast, endured a fifth straight loss since securing victory in their first match against Pakistan and have been removed from contention.

Although Bangladesh made the ideal beginning, with Marufa striking with the opening bowl of the game to dismiss Gunaratne, they were deservedly made to pay for a subpar fielding performance.

They offered lifelines to Perera, who was dropped multiple times, and Athapaththu.

Even though the Sri Lankan skipper failed to make it count, sent back leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being dropped by Rabeya, Hasini Perera made the opposition suffer.

She registered a maiden international 50-run score, accumulating 85 from 99 deliveries and contributing to an important 74-run fifth-wicket association with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna's three wickets for 27 runs, fought themselves back to the match, with De Silva's wicket in the 34th innings segment triggering a Sri Lanka batting collapse from 174 for four to 202 all out.

During their chase, the Lankan team's starting bowlers Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani contained Bangladesh to 23 for one in a lacklustre initial phase and they were subsequently reduced to 44-3.

Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty rebuilt their innings, adding 82 runs for the fourth wicket collaboration before Sharmin left the field injured for a determined 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was in favor of Bangladesh entering the final two innings segments, with merely 12 runs needed.

Yet, Sugandika Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu and conceded merely three runs before Athapaththu's dramatic spell, with Rabeya, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all dismissed as the Lankan team grabbed the triumph at the death.

Ultimately, it was a contest of nerve. The highly experienced Lankan captain, who moved aside a several of team-mates as she prepared to bowl the last over, maintained her nerve. Bangladesh did not.

There will be many questions about Bangladesh's batting performance. They could easily have been needing 270 to 280 with Sri Lanka appearing settled on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th over, but in contrast the required total was considerably smaller.

Nevertheless, the batting side showed little aggression from ball one, making runs at below 2.5 runs per over during the initial phase, suffering a early batting collapse, and ultimately leaving themselves overwhelming to do.

But no matter what difficulties there are with their batting approach, if they had taken their chances in the field, that 203 total objective would have been significantly lower.

It needed them three efforts to terminate the 72-run second-wicket collaboration, with wicketkeeper Joty not managing to grab a tough chance behind the stumps to remove Perera on 23 before the captain got a reprieve from a return catch possibility against Rabeya Khan.

The batter was missed further on 55 and 63 runs, the latter chance traveling directly to Jhilik at cover, before eventually being given out lbw by Shorna as she attempted to accelerate the scoring with partners being dismissed near her.

Subsequently in the innings, there was additionally a failed stumping and a failed run-out, even though the second one was a little unlucky, with Rubya Haider substituting with the keeping duties due to an fitness issue to Joty.

Unfortunately for Bangladesh, such fielding woes are far from a one-off. They've failed to catch 14 chances from a potential 27 opportunities at this tournament and boast the lowest catching success rate (less than 50%) of the eight teams.

They are a side who are generally heading in the right direction – they are playing in just their second 50-over World Cup after all – but poor fielding standards is a obvious concern which needs focus.