The Lankan team overcomes Bangladesh to maintain their tournament hopes ongoing

ICC Women's World Cup, Mumbai

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

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

Sri Lanka emerge victorious by seven runs

Sri Lanka claimed four wickets in the final over to seal a nail-biting triumph over Bangladesh and preserve their narrow hopes of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals intact.

Pursuing a attainable score of 203 on a favorable wicket in the Mumbai stadium, the Bangladeshi team needed nine additional runs from the remaining six deliveries.

However, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu claimed three important dismissals in four deliveries and de Silva ran out Nahida Akter to secure a thrilling victory for the Lankan team.

The triumph – Sri Lanka's maiden of the tournament after three losses and two washed-out matches against the Australian team and New Zealand – moves them equal on four points with the Indian team and New Zealand, who face each other on Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, in contrast, experienced a fifth straight loss since securing victory in their initial game against the Pakistani team and have been knocked out.

Although the Bangladeshi side made the ideal beginning, with Marufa taking a wicket with the initial ball of the game to remove Vishmi Gunaratne, they were deservedly penalized for a poor fielding performance.

They offered lifelines to Perera, who was missed three times, and the Lankan captain.

While the Sri Lankan skipper failed to capitalise, sent back leg before wicket for 46 a single bowl after being put down by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera made Bangladesh regret it.

She registered a first international half-century, making 85 from 99 balls and sharing an important 74-run fifth-wicket association with Nilakshi de Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, led by Shorna Akter's 3-27, fought themselves back into the game, with Nilakshi's dismissal in the 34th over initiating a Lankan collapse from 174 for four to 202 all out.

During their chase, the Lankan team's initial pace attack Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani limited the opposition to 23 for one in a disappointing initial phase and they were afterwards diminished to 44 with three wickets lost.

Sharmin Akter and Nigar Sultana Joty rebuilt their score, adding an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket before the batter retired hurt for a determined 64 in the 36th over.

It was advantage Bangladesh approaching the last two overs, with merely 12 runs necessary.

Nevertheless, Sugandika Dasanayaka removed Ritu and allowed merely three scoring runs before the captain's decisive intervention, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all dismissed as the Lankan team seized the victory at the final moment.

Finally, it was a match of nerves. The very experienced Lankan captain, who directed away a few of teammates as she prepared to deliver the final over, maintained hers. The opposition did not.

There will be numerous inquiries about the team's batting effort. They might well have been chasing around 270-280 with the Lankan team appearing comfortable on 159 for four in the 30th over, but in contrast the target was much lower.

However, the batting side displayed insufficient intent from the start, making runs at below 2.5 runs each over during the powerplay, experiencing a initial wicket loss, and ultimately leaving themselves too much to do.

But no matter what difficulties there are with their batting, if they had accepted their catches in the fielding department, that 203 total goal would have been substantially smaller.

It required them three efforts to terminate the 72-run partnership second-wicket association, with wicketkeeper Joty failing to hold a challenging catch behind the stumps to dismiss Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu got a reprieve from a caught and bowled possibility against Rabeya Khan.

The batter was spilled again on her score of 55 and 63, the last attempt traveling directly to Jhilik at cover field, before ultimately being dismissed lbw by Shorna as she attempted to up the ante with teammates being dismissed near her.

Later in the innings, there was also a failed stumping and a missed run-out, although the run-out chance was a little unfortunate, with Rubya Haider deputising with the gloves following an injury to Joty.

Sadly for the team, such fielding woes are nowhere near a isolated incident. They've missed 14 catches from a possible 27 chances at this tournament and display the poorest fielding effectiveness (48.1%) of the eight teams.

They are a team who are generally heading in the correct path – they are participating in only their second one-day World Cup in the end – but substandard fielding standards is a glaring issue which demands focus.