The Lankan team overcomes the Bangladeshi side to maintain their tournament hopes alive

ICC Women's 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

Sri Lanka win by seven runs

Sri Lanka claimed four crucial dismissals in the decisive over to complete a thrilling victory over Bangladesh and maintain their slim chances of making it for the tournament knockout stage ongoing.

Pursuing a attainable score of 203 on a favorable wicket in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team needed nine runs from the last six bowls.

However, Lankan skipper Athapaththu secured three important dismissals in four bowls and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida to bring about a thrilling win for Sri Lanka.

The triumph – Sri Lanka's first of the competition after three unsuccessful matches and two no-results against Australia and New Zealand – elevates them equal on four tournament points with the Indian team and the New Zealand side, who confront each other on Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, however, suffered a fifth consecutive loss since winning their initial game against the Pakistani team and have been knocked out.

Although Bangladesh made the ideal beginning, with Marufa Akter striking with the initial ball of the encounter to send back Gunaratne, they were appropriately made to pay for a disappointing fielding effort.

They provided second chances to Hasini Perera, who was missed on three occasions, and the Lankan captain.

While Athapaththu failed to make it count, removed lbw for 46 a single bowl after being missed by Rabeya Khan, Perera made Bangladesh pay.

She registered a maiden international half-century, making 85 from 99 bowls and building an crucial 74-run partnership fifth-wicket collaboration with De Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, led by Shorna's 3-27, pulled themselves back in the contest, with Nilakshi's wicket in the 34th bowling segment triggering a Sri Lanka batting collapse from 174-4 to 202 all out.

During their chase, Sri Lanka's initial pace attack Malki Madara and Prabodhani limited Bangladesh to 23-1 in a uninspiring initial phase and they were afterwards diminished to 44 for three.

Sharmin and Joty restored their batting effort, contributing 82 runs for the fourth wicket collaboration before Sharmin left the field injured for a stubborn 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was in favor of Bangladesh heading into the remaining two overs, with merely 12 runs required.

Yet, Dasanayaka sent back Ritu Moni and gave away merely three runs before Athapaththu's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all removed as Sri Lanka seized the triumph at the death.

Finally, it was a match of nerves. The highly experienced Athapaththu, who ushered away a handful of fellow players as she got ready to deliver the final over, maintained hers. Bangladesh failed to.

There will be many doubts about the team's batting display. They possibly have been pursuing 270 or 280 with the Lankan team appearing settled on 159-4 in the 30th over, but in contrast the target was much lower.

Yet, the batting side showed little purpose from ball one, scoring at under 2.5 runs per over during the initial phase, experiencing a early batting collapse, and finally making themselves overwhelming to do.

But no matter what issues there are with their batting lineup, if they had seized their chances in the fielding department, that 203 total objective would have been significantly less.

It took them three attempts to end the 72-run second-wicket, with wicketkeeper Joty failing to hold a difficult opportunity as wicketkeeper to send back Perera on 23 before Athapaththu survived from a caught and bowled chance opportunity against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was dropped again on 55 runs and 63 runs, the final opportunity flying right to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before finally being given out leg before wicket by Shorna as she attempted to increase the tempo with batting partners falling around her.

Afterwards in the game, there was also a failed stumping and a failed run-out, even though the run-out chance was a slightly unlucky, with Jhilik deputising with the wicketkeeping gloves following an fitness issue to Joty.

Sadly for Bangladesh, such fielding woes are not at all a one-off. They've dropped 14 catches from a potential 27 chances at this competition and have the lowest fielding effectiveness (48.1 percent) of the participating teams.

They are a side who are overall progressing in the right direction – they are participating in merely their second 50-over World Cup in the end – but poor fielding standards is a obvious issue which requires improvement.