Sri Lanka defeats the Bangladeshi side to preserve their campaign ongoing

Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs

Sri Lanka took four wickets in the decisive over to complete a heart-stopping win over their opponents and maintain their slim hopes of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals alive.

Chasing a attainable score of 203 on a good batting surface in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh wanted nine additional runs from the final six bowls.

Yet, Lankan skipper Athapaththu claimed three important dismissals in four deliveries and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to achieve a exciting success for the Lankan team.

The triumph – the Lankan team's maiden of the competition after three losses and two no-results against Australia and New Zealand – moves them tied on four points with the Indian team and the New Zealand side, who confront each other on Thursday.

Bangladesh, in contrast, endured a fifth straight loss since winning their tournament opener against the Pakistani team and have been eliminated.

While the Bangladeshi side made the ideal beginning, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the opening bowl of the match to dismiss Gunaratne, they were deservedly punished for a subpar fielding display.

They provided second chances to Perera, who was spilled on three occasions, and Athapaththu.

Even though the Sri Lankan skipper failed to make it count, dismissed leg before wicket for 46 one ball after being dropped by Rabeya Khan, Perera made Bangladesh pay.

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

The Bangladeshi team, led by Shorna's three wickets for 27 runs, pulled themselves back in the match, with De Silva's wicket in the 34th innings segment initiating a Lankan collapse from 174-4 to 202 total.

In reply, the Lankan team's opening bowlers Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani contained Bangladesh to 23 for one in a uninspiring initial phase and they were later reduced to 44 for three.

Sharmin and Joty rebuilt their innings, contributing an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket collaboration before the batter withdrew due to injury for a resolute 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was in favor of the chasing team heading into the remaining two bowling phases, with only 12 more runs necessary.

Nevertheless, Sugandika Dasanayaka removed Ritu Moni and gave away just three scoring runs before the captain's dramatic spell, with Rabeya, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all sent back as Sri Lanka grabbed the win at the death.

Ultimately, it was a contest of nerves. The very experienced Lankan captain, who ushered away a handful of fellow players as she set herself to bowl the final over, maintained her nerve. Bangladesh failed to.

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

Nevertheless, the batting side showed little intent from the very beginning, making runs at under 2.5 runs per over during the initial phase, suffering a early batting collapse, and ultimately leaving themselves too much to do.

But whatever issues there are with their batting, if they had seized their catches in the fielding area, that 203 total goal would have been considerably lower.

It needed them three efforts to break the 72-run partnership second-wicket collaboration, with keeper Joty not managing to grab a challenging chance while keeping to remove Perera on 23 before Athapaththu survived from a caught and bowled chance opportunity against Rabeya.

The batter was missed once more on 55 runs and her score of 63, the last attempt flying right to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover position, before ultimately being given out leg before wicket by Shorna Akter as she attempted to accelerate the scoring with partners being dismissed beside her.

Subsequently in the innings, there was additionally a stumping chance missed and a failed run-out, although the second one was a slightly unlucky, with Rubya Haider standing in with the gloves following an fitness issue to Joty.

Unfortunately for Bangladesh, such fielding woes are not at all a one-off. They've missed 14 opportunities from a possible 27 chances at this tournament and boast the lowest catching success rate (48.1 percent) of the competing sides.

They are a team who are overall heading in the right direction – they are playing in merely their second ODI World Cup in the end – but inadequate fielding performance is a prominent problem which demands focus.