The Lankan team overcomes Bangladesh to keep their World Cup campaign ongoing

ICC Women's World Cup, Mumbai

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

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

Sri Lanka win by seven runs

Sri Lanka claimed four crucial dismissals in the final innings segment to complete a nail-biting win over their opponents and keep their faint hopes of qualifying for the tournament knockout stage alive.

Chasing a modest score of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh required nine more runs from the last six bowls.

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

The victory – the Lankan team's maiden of the tournament after three unsuccessful matches and two no-results against Australia and New Zealand – moves them tied on four tournament points with the Indian team and the New Zealand side, who face each other on the coming Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, however, endured a fifth straight loss since securing victory in their first match against Pakistan and have been removed from contention.

Even though the Bangladeshi side got off to the excellent commencement, with Marufa taking a wicket with the opening bowl of the match to send back Vishmi Gunaratne, they were appropriately made to pay for a disappointing fielding performance.

They provided reprieves to Perera, who was spilled on three occasions, and the Lankan captain.

Even though the Sri Lankan skipper could not capitalise, sent back leg before wicket for 46 one ball after being missed by Rabeya, Hasini Perera made the opposition pay.

She registered a maiden international fifty, scoring 85 from 99 bowls and building an important 74-run partnership fifth-wicket with De Silva.

Bangladesh, led by Shorna's 3-27, pulled themselves back in the game, with Nilakshi's dismissal in the 34th innings segment causing a Lankan batting collapse from 174 for four to 202 complete.

During their chase, the Lankan team's opening bowlers Madara and Prabodhani restricted Bangladesh to 23 for one in a uninspiring powerplay and they were later brought down to 44-3.

Sharmin Akter and Joty restored their innings, putting on 82 runs for the fourth wicket collaboration before the batter withdrew due to injury for a determined 64 in the 36th innings segment.

It was in favor of Bangladesh approaching the remaining two innings segments, with merely 12 additional runs needed.

Nevertheless, Sugandika Dasanayaka sent back Ritu and allowed just three runs before Athapaththu's chaos, with Rabeya, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all sent back as the Lankan team snatched the victory at the final moment.

Ultimately, it was a contest of nerve. The highly experienced Lankan captain, who ushered away a several of fellow players as she prepared to bowl the last over, kept her composure. Bangladesh failed to.

There will be many inquiries about Bangladesh's batting display. They could easily have been needing around 270-280 with the Lankan team seeming at ease on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th bowling phase, but rather the chase was much lower.

Nevertheless, Bangladesh showed little purpose from the very beginning, making runs at below 2.5 scoring rate during the initial phase, suffering a early batting collapse, and eventually forcing themselves excessive to do.

But no matter what problems there are with their batting lineup, if they had accepted their catches in the field, that 203-run target goal would have been substantially less.

It needed them three tries to break the 72-run stand second-wicket association, with keeper Joty being unable to grab a difficult chance while keeping to remove Perera on 23 before the captain got a reprieve from a caught and bowled chance opportunity against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was dropped further on her score of 55 and 63, the latter chance going directly to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before eventually being dismissed leg before wicket by Shorna Akter as she tried to increase the tempo with partners falling near her.

Later in the game, there was also a missed stumping and a run-out opportunity lost, while the latter was a somewhat unlucky, with Jhilik deputising with the wicketkeeping gloves following an physical problem to Joty.

Sadly for Bangladesh, such fielding woes are far from a isolated incident. They've failed to catch 14 catches from a potential 27 opportunities at this tournament and have the lowest catching success rate (48.1 percent) of the eight teams.

They are a team who are typically heading in the correct path – they are competing in only their second ODI World Cup after all – but poor fielding standards is a prominent problem which demands improvement.