The Lankan team defeats the Bangladeshi side to preserve their campaign ongoing

Women's Cricket World Cup, Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side win by seven runs margin

Sri Lanka secured four wickets in the last over to seal a nail-biting victory over their opponents and maintain their slim chances of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals intact.

Needing a below-par score of 203 on a favorable wicket in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh required nine more runs from the last six balls.

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

The win – Sri Lanka's initial of the World Cup after three losses and two abandoned games against the Australian team and New Zealand – pushes them level on four match points with India and New Zealand, who meet each other on the coming Thursday.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, experienced a fifth consecutive defeat since securing victory in their first match against the Pakistani team and have been knocked out.

While the Bangladeshi side made the excellent commencement, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the initial ball of the encounter to remove Vishmi Gunaratne, they were appropriately made to pay for a subpar fielding effort.

They gifted second chances to Perera, who was missed on three occasions, and Athapaththu.

While the Sri Lankan skipper was unable to take advantage, sent back lbw for 46 one ball after being dropped by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera made Bangladesh pay.

She achieved a first international 50-run score, making 85 from 99 bowls and building an crucial 74-run stand fifth-wicket collaboration with Nilakshi de Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, led by Shorna's impressive bowling figures, dragged themselves back in the game, with De Silva's removal in the 34th bowling segment causing a Sri Lanka downfall from 174 with four wickets down to 202 total.

In reply, the Lankan team's initial pace attack Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani restricted Bangladesh to 23 for one in a uninspiring opening overs and they were subsequently reduced to 44 for three.

Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty reconstructed their batting effort, adding an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket before Sharmin withdrew due to injury for a determined 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was leaning toward the chasing team approaching the final two overs, with merely 12 additional runs needed.

Yet, Sugandika Dasanayaka removed Ritu and conceded only three runs before the captain's dramatic spell, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, captain Joty and Marufa all sent back as the Lankan team grabbed the win at the final moment.

Ultimately, it was a contest of nerves. The highly experienced Lankan captain, who moved aside a few of team-mates as she set herself to deliver the final over, maintained her nerve. Bangladesh did not.

There will be many doubts about the team's batting display. They possibly have been chasing 270 or 280 with Sri Lanka seeming at ease on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th over, but rather the target was much lower.

Yet, the batting side displayed insufficient intent from the very beginning, accumulating runs at under 2.5 runs per over during the opening overs, suffering a early batting collapse, and eventually leaving themselves too much to accomplish.

But no matter what difficulties there are with their batting lineup, if they had seized their chances in the fielding area, that 203 total target would have been significantly lower.

It required them three attempts to terminate the 72-run partnership second-wicket, with keeper Joty not managing to grab a challenging catch behind the stumps to send back Perera on 23 before the captain survived from a return catch opportunity against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was dropped further on 55 and 63 runs, the latter chance traveling straight to Jhilik at cover field, before finally being dismissed leg before wicket by Shorna Akter as she sought to up the ante with batting partners falling near her.

Subsequently in the game, there was also a missed stumping and a missed run-out, even though the second one was a little regrettable, with Rubya Haider deputising with the wicketkeeping gloves due to an fitness issue to the regular keeper.

Sadly for the team, such fielding woes are far from a single occurrence. They've failed to catch 14 chances from a available 27 opportunities at this World Cup and display the lowest fielding effectiveness (48.1%) of the eight teams.

They are a squad who are overall progressing in the right direction – they are participating in only their second one-day World Cup in the end – but inadequate fielding performance is a prominent concern which demands focus.