The Lankan team overcomes the Bangladeshi side to keep their World Cup campaign alive

Women's Cricket World Cup, Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs margin

The Lankan cricket team secured four wickets in the last innings segment to complete a nail-biting triumph over Bangladesh and maintain their slim aspirations of making it for the World Cup semi-finals intact.

Needing a attainable total of 203 on a favorable wicket in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team wanted nine additional runs from the final six balls.

Yet, Lankan skipper Athapaththu secured three important dismissals in four bowls and de Silva ran out Nahida Akter to bring about a thrilling win for Sri Lanka.

The victory – Sri Lanka's first of the World Cup after three defeats and two no-results against the Australian team and New Zealand – moves them level on four match points with India and the New Zealand side, who confront each other on Thursday.

Bangladesh, in contrast, suffered a fifth successive loss since winning their tournament opener against Pakistan and have been knocked out.

Although Bangladesh got off to the excellent commencement, with Marufa striking with the opening bowl of the game to send back Vishmi Gunaratne, they were appropriately punished for a disappointing fielding effort.

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

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

She registered a debut international half-century, scoring 85 from 99 balls and building an crucial 74-run fifth-wicket collaboration with De Silva.

Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna's three wickets for 27 runs, pulled themselves back to the contest, with Nilakshi's removal in the 34th innings segment triggering a Lankan collapse from 174 with four wickets down to 202 complete.

During their chase, the Lankan team's starting bowlers Madara and Prabodhani restricted the opposition to 23-1 in a uninspiring powerplay and they were afterwards reduced to 44 for three.

Sharmin Akter and Nigar Sultana Joty rebuilt their innings, adding 82 for the fourth wicket stand before the batter retired hurt for a stubborn 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was advantage the chasing team heading into the last two bowling phases, with just 12 additional runs necessary.

Yet, Dasanayaka removed Ritu Moni and allowed merely three scoring runs before the captain's chaos, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa all removed as Sri Lanka snatched the victory at the very end.

Ultimately, it was a match of composure. The very experienced Lankan captain, who ushered away a several of fellow players as she prepared to deliver the final over, maintained hers. Bangladesh could not.

There will be plenty of questions about the team's batting display. They possibly have been needing 270 to 280 with Sri Lanka appearing comfortable on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th over, but instead the required total was significantly less.

However, Bangladesh showed little aggression from the very beginning, scoring at less than 2.5 runs each over during the powerplay, suffering a early batting collapse, and finally making themselves overwhelming to do.

But whatever difficulties there are with their batting lineup, if they had seized their catches in the fielding department, that 203-run target would have been substantially lower.

It required them three efforts to end the 72-run second-wicket association, with wicketkeeper Nigar Sultana failing to grab a challenging opportunity behind the stumps to dismiss Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu got a reprieve from a return catch chance against Rabeya.

Perera was dropped again on 55 runs and 63 runs, the latter chance flying right to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover field, before finally being given out lbw by Shorna as she tried to increase the tempo with partners being dismissed beside her.

Afterwards in the batting effort, there was additionally a stumping chance missed and a missed run-out, even though the run-out chance was a slightly regrettable, with Rubya Haider standing in with the wicketkeeping gloves following an fitness issue to the regular keeper.

Regrettably for Bangladesh, such fielding issues are far from a isolated incident. They've failed to catch 14 chances from a possible 27 at this tournament and boast the worst catch efficiency (less than 50%) of the participating teams.

They are a side who are generally progressing in the proper way – they are participating in merely their second one-day World Cup after all – but poor fielding standards is a prominent problem which demands focus.