The Lankan team defeats the Bangladeshi side to maintain their tournament hopes breathing

ICC Women's World Cup, Mumbai

The Lankan team 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 claimed four crucial dismissals in the decisive over to achieve a nail-biting triumph over Bangladesh and keep their faint aspirations of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals alive.

Needing a attainable score of 203 on a good batting surface in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh needed nine runs from the remaining six bowls.

Yet, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu secured three important dismissals in four balls and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to secure a dramatic victory for the Lankan team.

The victory – the Lankan team's first of the competition after three losses and two abandoned games against Australia and the Kiwi side – moves them equal on four tournament points with India and the New Zealand side, who meet each other on Thursday.

Bangladesh, in contrast, suffered a fifth consecutive defeat since securing victory in their initial game against the Pakistani team and have been eliminated.

Even though Bangladesh got off to the excellent commencement, with Marufa striking with the first delivery of the game to dismiss Gunaratne, they were appropriately penalized for a subpar fielding display.

They offered second chances to Perera, who was missed multiple times, and the Lankan captain.

While Athapaththu was unable to take advantage, sent back lbw for 46 one ball after being missed by Rabeya, Perera made Bangladesh pay.

She scored a maiden international 50-run score, making 85 from 99 balls and building an significant 74-run fifth-wicket collaboration with De Silva.

Bangladesh, led by Shorna's impressive bowling figures, fought themselves back to the game, with Nilakshi's wicket in the 34th over initiating a Lankan collapse from 174-4 to 202 all out.

During their chase, Sri Lanka's opening bowlers Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani contained the opposition to 23 with one wicket down in a uninspiring powerplay and they were subsequently reduced to 44 with three wickets lost.

Sharmin Akter and Joty rebuilt their innings, contributing 82 runs for the fourth wicket collaboration before the batter retired hurt for a resolute 64 in the 36th over.

It was in favor of the chasing team approaching the last two bowling phases, with just 12 runs necessary.

Nevertheless, Dasanayaka sent back Ritu and conceded just three scoring runs before Athapaththu's dramatic spell, with Rabeya, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa all dismissed as Sri Lanka seized the triumph at the death.

Finally, it was a contest of nerve. The seasoned Athapaththu, who directed away a several of team-mates as she set herself to bowl the last over, kept her composure. The opposition failed to.

There will be plenty of inquiries about Bangladesh's batting display. They might well have been chasing 270 or 280 with Sri Lanka looking at ease on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th innings segment, but in contrast the chase was significantly less.

Yet, Bangladesh showed little aggression from ball one, making runs at less than 2.5 scoring rate during the opening overs, undergoing a early batting collapse, and eventually leaving themselves overwhelming to do.

But no matter what problems there are with their batting lineup, if they had taken their opportunities in the field, that 203 total target would have been substantially lower.

It needed them three tries to end the 72-run partnership second-wicket collaboration, with wicketkeeper Joty not managing to grab a difficult chance as wicketkeeper to dismiss Perera on 23 before the captain survived from a caught and bowled possibility against Rabeya Khan.

The batter was dropped again on her score of 55 and her score of 63, the last attempt going directly to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover field, before finally being trapped lbw by Shorna Akter as she tried to up the ante with batting partners getting out around her.

Subsequently in the innings, there was additionally a missed stumping and a failed run-out, although the second one was a slightly regrettable, with Jhilik substituting with the keeping duties due to an physical problem to the regular keeper.

Sadly for Bangladesh, such fielding problems are nowhere near a one-off. They've missed 14 opportunities from a available 27 chances at this competition and boast the poorest catching success rate (48.1 percent) of the participating teams.

They are a team who are typically moving in the proper way – they are participating in merely their second one-day World Cup after all – but poor fielding is a prominent concern which requires attention.