The Lankan team overcomes the Bangladeshi side to preserve their World Cup campaign breathing
The Lankan team will meet Pakistan in their decisive final tournament match
ICC Women's World Cup, Navi Mumbai
Sri Lanka 202 (48.4 overs): Hasini Perera 85 (99); Shorna Akter 3-27
Bangladesh 195-9 (50 overs): Nigar Sultana Joty 77 (98); Chamari Athapaththu 4-42
The Lankan side win by seven runs margin
Sri Lanka took four crucial dismissals in the last innings segment to complete a heart-stopping victory over Bangladesh and preserve their faint aspirations of making it for the tournament knockout stage intact.
Pursuing a modest total of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team wanted nine runs from the remaining six deliveries.
Nevertheless, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu took three crucial wickets in four bowls and Nilakshi de Silva ran out Nahida to achieve a dramatic victory for Sri Lanka.
The win – the Lankan team's initial of the tournament after three unsuccessful matches and two abandoned games against Australia and New Zealand – pushes them level on four tournament points with the Indian team and New Zealand, who meet each other on Thursday.
The Bangladeshi team, however, experienced a fifth successive defeat since winning their tournament opener against Pakistan and have been eliminated.
Even though Bangladesh got off to the ideal beginning, with Marufa striking with the opening bowl of the encounter to dismiss Gunaratne, they were deservedly punished for a poor fielding performance.
They offered reprieves to Perera, who was spilled three times, and Athapaththu.
Even though Athapaththu could not take advantage, dismissed lbw for 46 just one delivery after being put down by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera made Bangladesh suffer.
She registered a first international half-century, scoring 85 from 99 balls and sharing an crucial 74-run fifth-wicket association with Nilakshi de Silva.
The Bangladeshi team, guided by Shorna's impressive bowling figures, fought themselves back to the game, with Nilakshi's removal in the 34th over causing a Lankan collapse from 174 with four wickets down to 202 complete.
In reply, Sri Lanka's opening bowlers Madara and Prabodhani limited Bangladesh to 23 for one in a uninspiring powerplay and they were later brought down to 44 with three wickets lost.
Sharmin and Joty reconstructed their batting effort, contributing an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket stand before the batter left the field injured for a stubborn 64 in the 36th innings segment.
It was in favor of the chasing team entering the final two overs, with just 12 more runs necessary.
Nevertheless, Sugandika Dasanayaka sent back Ritu and allowed merely three scoring runs before the captain's dramatic spell, with Rabeya, Nahida Akter, captain Joty and Marufa all sent back as the Lankan team grabbed the triumph at the death.
The Bangladeshi team cannot maintain composure - and catches
Ultimately, it was a game of nerve. The seasoned Athapaththu, who ushered away a few of fellow players as she set herself to bowl the last over, kept her composure. Bangladesh could not.
There will be numerous doubts about Bangladesh's batting display. They might well have been needing around 270-280 with Sri Lanka appearing settled on 159-4 in the 30th innings segment, but in contrast the target was much lower.
Yet, the batting side showed little purpose from ball one, making runs at under 2.5 runs each over during the initial phase, suffering a top-order collapse, and eventually forcing themselves overwhelming to achieve.
But no matter what difficulties there are with their batting lineup, if they had taken their chances in the fielding department, that 203-run target goal would have been considerably lower.
It took them three efforts to terminate the 72-run second-wicket collaboration, with keeper Joty failing to grab a difficult opportunity behind the stumps to send back Perera on 23 before Athapaththu was spared from a caught and bowled chance chance against Rabeya.
The batter was spilled again on 55 and 63 runs, the latter chance flying right to Jhilik at cover position, before finally being dismissed leg before wicket by Shorna Akter as she tried to up the ante with batting partners falling around her.
Subsequently in the innings, there was also a stumping chance missed and a missed run-out, even though the second one was a somewhat unlucky, with Jhilik deputising with the gloves following an fitness issue to Joty.
Regrettably for the team, such fielding problems are nowhere near a isolated incident. They've dropped 14 chances from a potential 27 at this competition and boast the lowest catch efficiency (less than 50%) of the eight teams.
They are a team who are typically heading in the correct path – they are competing in just their second one-day World Cup after all – but substandard fielding is a glaring issue which needs attention.
