The Lankan team overcomes Bangladesh to maintain their campaign ongoing
The Lankan team will face Pakistan in their decisive last tournament encounter
Women's Cricket World Cup, Mumbai
Sri Lanka 202 (48.4 overs): Perera 85 (99); Shorna Akter 3-27
Bangladesh 195-9 (50 overs): Joty 77 (98); Athapaththu 4-42
Sri Lanka win by seven runs
The Lankan cricket team claimed four crucial dismissals in the final over to achieve a nail-biting victory over their opponents and preserve their narrow hopes of making it for the tournament knockout stage intact.
Needing a below-par score of 203 on a favorable wicket in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh wanted nine additional runs from the last six balls.
Nevertheless, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu claimed three crucial wickets in four bowls and de Silva ran out Nahida to secure a exciting win for the Lankan team.
The win – the Lankan team's maiden of the competition after three defeats and two no-results against the Australian team and New Zealand – pushes them tied on four points with India and New Zealand, who face each other on the coming Thursday.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, suffered a fifth successive defeat since securing victory in their initial game against Pakistan and have been removed from contention.
Although Bangladesh made the excellent commencement, with Marufa taking a wicket with the opening bowl of the encounter to dismiss Gunaratne, they were deservedly made to pay for a poor fielding performance.
They provided reprieves to Hasini Perera, who was spilled three times, and the Lankan captain.
Even though Athapaththu failed to take advantage, removed lbw for 46 one ball after being dropped by Rabeya, Hasini Perera forced the opposition regret it.
She achieved a maiden international 50-run score, accumulating 85 from 99 deliveries and building an significant 74-run partnership fifth-wicket association with Nilakshi de Silva.
The Bangladeshi team, spearheaded by Shorna's three wickets for 27 runs, pulled themselves back to the match, with De Silva's dismissal in the 34th innings segment triggering a Sri Lanka downfall from 174 with four wickets down to 202 all out.
During their chase, the Lankan team's starting bowlers Madara and Prabodhani restricted the opposition to 23 with one wicket down in a uninspiring opening overs and they were afterwards diminished to 44 for three.
Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty restored their score, adding 82 for the fourth wicket before the batter retired hurt for a resolute 64 in the 36th innings segment.
It was in favor of Bangladesh entering the remaining two overs, with just 12 more runs required.
However, Dasanayaka removed Ritu Moni and allowed just three runs before the captain's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida Akter, captain Joty and Marufa all sent back as the Lankan team grabbed the win at the final moment.
The Bangladeshi team cannot keep calm - and catches
Ultimately, it was a game of composure. The highly experienced Athapaththu, who ushered away a handful of team-mates as she prepared to deliver the final over, held her nerve. The opposition failed to.
There will be plenty of questions about the team's batting effort. They possibly have been pursuing 270 or 280 with Sri Lanka appearing at ease on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th bowling phase, but in contrast the target was significantly less.
However, the batting side showed little purpose from ball one, accumulating runs at under 2.5 runs each over during the initial phase, suffering a top-order collapse, and finally making themselves too much to achieve.
But whatever difficulties there are with their batting approach, if they had taken their catches in the fielding department, that 203-run target objective would have been significantly lower.
It needed them three attempts to break the 72-run partnership second-wicket, with wicketkeeper Joty not managing to take a difficult chance as wicketkeeper to send back Hasini Perera on 23 runs before the captain survived from a caught and bowled chance chance against Rabeya.
The batter was spilled again on 55 and 63 runs, the latter chance going right to Jhilik at cover, before finally being trapped lbw by Shorna as she tried to accelerate the scoring with batting partners getting out around her.
Later in the batting effort, there was also a failed stumping and a failed run-out, although the latter was a little unlucky, with Jhilik standing in with the wicketkeeping gloves due to an physical problem to Joty.
Unfortunately for the team, such fielding issues are not at all a single occurrence. They've dropped 14 catches from a available 27 at this competition and display the lowest catching success rate (48.1%) of the competing sides.
They are a team who are generally heading in the proper way – they are competing in only their second one-day World Cup in the end – but inadequate fielding is a obvious issue which demands attention.
