The Lankan team beats the Bangladeshi side to maintain their World Cup campaign breathing

Women's Cricket World Cup, Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs margin

Sri Lanka secured four crucial dismissals in the last over to complete a heart-stopping win over their opponents and preserve their faint aspirations of making it for the tournament knockout stage intact.

Chasing a below-par total of 203 on a good batting surface in the Mumbai stadium, the Bangladeshi team wanted nine runs from the remaining six deliveries.

Nevertheless, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu took three wickets in four balls and de Silva ran out Nahida to achieve a exciting success for Sri Lanka.

The triumph – the Lankan team's first of the competition after three losses and two abandoned games against the Australian team and the Kiwi side – elevates them equal on four match points with India and New Zealand, who face each other on Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, in contrast, endured a fifth straight setback since securing victory in their first match against the Pakistani team and have been knocked out.

Even though the Bangladeshi side made the perfect start, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the initial ball of the match to send back Gunaratne, they were deservedly penalized for a disappointing fielding display.

They provided lifelines to Hasini Perera, who was dropped multiple times, and the Lankan captain.

While Athapaththu could not make it count, dismissed leg before wicket for 46 one ball after being missed by Rabeya Khan, Perera forced Bangladesh suffer.

She achieved a maiden international fifty, scoring 85 from 99 bowls and sharing an important 74-run partnership fifth-wicket with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna's impressive bowling figures, fought themselves back to the match, with De Silva's dismissal in the 34th over triggering a Lankan downfall from 174 for four to 202 all out.

In reply, Sri Lanka's opening bowlers Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani restricted Bangladesh to 23 with one wicket down in a disappointing opening overs and they were later diminished to 44-3.

Sharmin Akter and Joty reconstructed their innings, putting on an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket collaboration before Sharmin retired hurt for a stubborn 64 in the 36th over.

It was in favor of Bangladesh approaching the last two innings segments, with only 12 additional runs necessary.

However, Dasanayaka removed Ritu and gave away merely three runs before the captain's dramatic spell, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, captain Joty and Marufa Akter all dismissed as Sri Lanka snatched the triumph at the very end.

Finally, it was a contest of nerves. The seasoned Athapaththu, who moved aside a several of teammates as she set herself to bowl the last over, held hers. The opposition failed to.

There will be many doubts about Bangladesh's batting performance. They possibly have been needing 270 to 280 with the Lankan team appearing at ease on 159-4 in the 30th over, but instead the chase was considerably smaller.

However, Bangladesh showed little intent from the very beginning, making runs at less than 2.5 scoring rate during the powerplay, suffering a early batting collapse, and ultimately leaving themselves too much to accomplish.

But whatever difficulties there are with their batting approach, if they had seized their catches in the field, that 203-run target objective would have been substantially lower.

It required them three efforts to end the 72-run stand second-wicket, with wicketkeeper Nigar Sultana failing to grab a challenging chance while keeping to remove Hasini Perera on 23 runs before the captain was spared from a caught and bowled chance possibility against Rabeya.

The batter was spilled again on 55 runs and 63 runs, the latter chance traveling directly to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover position, before finally being given out leg before wicket by Shorna Akter as she attempted to accelerate the scoring with partners being dismissed around her.

Subsequently in the batting effort, there was furthermore a stumping chance missed and a failed run-out, while the latter was a little unfortunate, with Rubya Haider standing in with the gloves following an injury to Joty.

Sadly for Bangladesh, such fielding woes are nowhere near a one-off. They've failed to catch 14 opportunities from a possible 27 chances at this World Cup and display the lowest fielding effectiveness (less than 50%) of the eight teams.

They are a side who are typically heading in the correct path – they are participating in just their second ODI World Cup in the end – but inadequate fielding is a prominent concern which demands focus.