The Lankan team will face the Pakistani side in their decisive final tournament game
Women's Cricket World Cup, Mumbai
The Lankan team 202 (48.4 overs): Perera 85 (99); Shorna Akter 3-27
The Bangladeshi team 195-9 (50 overs): Joty 77 (98); Athapaththu 4-42
Sri Lanka win by seven runs
Sri Lanka claimed four crucial dismissals in the last innings segment to complete a nail-biting win over Bangladesh and preserve their faint hopes of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals alive.
Chasing a attainable total of 203 on a favorable wicket in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team needed nine additional runs from the last six bowls.
However, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu took three important dismissals in four bowls and Nilakshi de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to bring about a exciting win for Sri Lanka.
The victory – the Lankan team's maiden of the World Cup after three defeats and two no-results against Australia and New Zealand – pushes them equal on four match points with India and the New Zealand side, who face each other on Thursday.
The Bangladeshi team, in contrast, experienced a fifth straight loss since securing victory in their tournament opener against the Pakistani team and have been removed from contention.
Although the Bangladeshi side made the excellent commencement, with Marufa Akter striking with the opening bowl of the game to send back Vishmi Gunaratne, they were appropriately made to pay for a subpar fielding effort.
They offered reprieves to Perera, who was missed multiple times, and Athapaththu.
Although the Sri Lankan skipper could not make it count, removed lbw for 46 a single bowl after being put down by Rabeya Khan, Perera forced the opposition pay.
She scored a maiden international fifty, making 85 from 99 bowls and building an important 74-run fifth-wicket collaboration with De Silva.
Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna Akter's 3-27, fought themselves back to the contest, with De Silva's removal in the 34th over causing a Sri Lanka batting collapse from 174 with four wickets down to 202 complete.
While batting second, Sri Lanka's initial pace attack Madara and Prabodhani contained Bangladesh to 23-1 in a lacklustre opening overs and they were afterwards brought down to 44 with three wickets lost.
Sharmin and Joty restored their innings, putting on 82 runs for the fourth wicket before Sharmin withdrew due to injury for a determined 64 in the 36th innings segment.
It was in favor of the chasing team heading into the last two overs, with merely 12 more runs necessary.
Yet, Sugandika Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu and gave away only three runs before the captain's decisive intervention, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all removed as Sri Lanka seized the victory at the very end.
In the end, it was a match of composure. The highly experienced Athapaththu, who ushered away a few of team-mates as she got ready to bowl the last over, held her composure. The opposition could not.
There will be plenty of questions about Bangladesh's batting effort. They possibly have been needing around 270-280 with Sri Lanka seeming settled on 159-4 in the 30th bowling phase, but instead the required total was much lower.
Yet, the batting side displayed insufficient purpose from ball one, making runs at under 2.5 runs each over during the powerplay, suffering a top-order collapse, and ultimately leaving themselves overwhelming to achieve.
But whatever issues 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 required them three attempts to break the 72-run stand second-wicket collaboration, with wicketkeeper Joty being unable to grab a difficult catch while keeping to dismiss Hasini Perera on 23 runs before Athapaththu got a reprieve from a caught and bowled chance chance against Rabeya.
The batter was spilled again on 55 runs and 63, the latter chance traveling directly to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover position, before eventually being given out leg before wicket by Shorna Akter as she attempted to increase the tempo with batting partners being dismissed around her.
Afterwards in the innings, there was additionally a stumping chance missed and a run-out opportunity lost, although the run-out chance was a somewhat regrettable, with Jhilik standing in with the wicketkeeping gloves following an fitness issue to the regular keeper.
Sadly for Bangladesh, such fielding issues are nowhere near a isolated incident. They've dropped 14 chances from a available 27 at this World Cup and boast the lowest catch efficiency (48.1%) of the participating teams.
They are a squad who are typically moving in the correct path – they are participating in only their second ODI World Cup in the end – but inadequate fielding standards is a prominent problem which needs focus.
