Sri Lanka defeats the Bangladeshi side to maintain their World Cup campaign breathing

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); Chamari Athapaththu 4-42

The Lankan side win by seven runs margin

The Lankan cricket team secured four wickets in the final over to achieve a thrilling triumph over their opponents and keep their faint hopes of qualifying for the tournament knockout stage alive.

Pursuing a modest target of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh wanted nine more runs from the final six balls.

Yet, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu secured three wickets in four deliveries and de Silva ran out Nahida to bring about a dramatic success for Sri Lanka.

The victory – Sri Lanka's initial of the tournament after three defeats and two washed-out matches against Australia and New Zealand – moves them level on four points with India and the New Zealand side, who meet each other on Thursday.

Bangladesh, however, endured a fifth successive setback since securing victory in their tournament opener against Pakistan and have been knocked out.

Even though the Bangladeshi side got off to the ideal beginning, with Marufa Akter striking with the first delivery of the game to dismiss Gunaratne, they were deservedly punished for a disappointing fielding display.

They offered reprieves to Perera, who was missed multiple times, and Athapaththu.

Even though the Sri Lankan skipper failed to make it count, dismissed leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being missed by Rabeya Khan, Perera made Bangladesh regret it.

She registered a debut international half-century, making 85 from 99 bowls and contributing to an crucial 74-run partnership fifth-wicket collaboration with Nilakshi de Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, spearheaded by Shorna Akter's three wickets for 27 runs, fought themselves back to the game, with Nilakshi's removal in the 34th innings segment triggering a Lankan downfall from 174-4 to 202 complete.

During their chase, Sri Lanka's starting bowlers Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani contained the opposition to 23-1 in a lacklustre powerplay and they were later diminished to 44 with three wickets lost.

Sharmin Akter and Joty reconstructed their batting effort, adding 82 for the fourth wicket before the batter left the field injured for a resolute 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was advantage Bangladesh approaching the final two overs, with merely 12 additional runs required.

Nevertheless, Dasanayaka removed Ritu and conceded just three runs before the captain's dramatic spell, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all removed as Sri Lanka seized the triumph at the death.

In the end, it was a contest of nerve. The highly experienced Athapaththu, who moved aside a several of fellow players as she got ready to bowl the final over, kept her nerve. Bangladesh could not.

There will be numerous doubts about Bangladesh's batting effort. They could easily have been needing 270 or 280 with the Lankan team looking at ease on 159 for four in the 30th over, but instead the chase was significantly less.

Yet, the batting side lacked intent from the very beginning, accumulating runs at below 2.5 runs per over during the opening overs, experiencing a initial wicket loss, and eventually forcing themselves too much to accomplish.

But whatever difficulties there are with their batting approach, if they had accepted their catches in the fielding department, that 203-run target would have been considerably less.

It required them three efforts to end the 72-run second-wicket collaboration, with wicketkeeper Nigar Sultana failing to hold a tough chance while keeping to remove Perera on her score of 23 before the captain got a reprieve from a caught and bowled chance chance against Rabeya.

Perera was spilled again on 55 runs and 63 runs, the latter chance going straight to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before eventually being given out lbw by Shorna as she tried to accelerate the scoring with batting partners getting out near her.

Afterwards in the batting effort, there was also a failed stumping and a failed run-out, while the second one was a somewhat regrettable, with Jhilik deputising with the gloves due to an fitness issue to the regular keeper.

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

They are a squad who are generally progressing in the right direction – they are playing in merely their second 50-over World Cup ultimately – but inadequate fielding performance is a glaring concern which requires improvement.