The Lankan team overcomes the Bangladeshi side to keep their World Cup campaign ongoing
The Lankan team will confront the Pakistani side in their must-win last tournament match
Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai
Sri Lanka 202 (48.4 overs): Perera 85 (99); Shorna 3-27
Bangladesh 195-9 (50 overs): Joty 77 (98); Chamari Athapaththu 4-42
The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs margin
The Lankan cricket team secured four wickets in the decisive over to achieve a heart-stopping triumph over their opponents and maintain their slim aspirations of qualifying for the tournament knockout stage intact.
Pursuing a below-par score of 203 on a favorable wicket in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh wanted nine additional runs from the remaining six deliveries.
Yet, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu took three wickets in four balls and de Silva ran out Nahida to secure a dramatic success for Sri Lanka.
The victory – Sri Lanka's first of the tournament after three unsuccessful matches and two washed-out matches against the Australian team and the Kiwi side – elevates them level on four tournament points with the Indian team and New Zealand, who meet each other on the coming Thursday.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, experienced a fifth consecutive defeat since winning their initial game against Pakistan and have been knocked out.
Although Bangladesh made the ideal beginning, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the opening bowl of the encounter to send back Gunaratne, they were deservedly punished for a poor fielding performance.
They offered lifelines to Hasini Perera, who was spilled three times, and the Lankan captain.
While the Sri Lankan skipper failed to capitalise, removed lbw for 46 just one delivery after being put down by Rabeya Khan, Perera forced Bangladesh pay.
She scored a debut international half-century, scoring 85 from 99 deliveries and building an important 74-run stand fifth-wicket association with De Silva.
Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna Akter's three wickets for 27 runs, fought themselves back to the contest, with De Silva's wicket in the 34th innings segment initiating a Lankan downfall from 174 with four wickets down to 202 complete.
In reply, Sri Lanka's initial pace attack Madara and Prabodhani restricted the opposition to 23 for one in a lacklustre initial phase and they were afterwards diminished to 44 for three.
Sharmin Akter and Joty restored their batting effort, adding an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket stand before Sharmin withdrew due to injury for a stubborn 64 in the 36th over.
It was in favor of the chasing team entering the last two innings segments, with just 12 more runs required.
Yet, Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu and conceded only three scoring runs before Athapaththu's chaos, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all removed as the Lankan team seized the victory at the very end.
Bangladesh fail to hold nerve - and fielding opportunities
Finally, it was a match of composure. The very experienced Athapaththu, who ushered away a several of teammates as she prepared to deliver the last over, maintained her nerve. The opposition failed to.
There will be plenty of questions about Bangladesh's batting effort. They could easily have been needing 270 or 280 with the Lankan team appearing at ease on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th innings segment, but instead the chase was significantly less.
Yet, Bangladesh lacked purpose from the start, accumulating runs at less than 2.5 runs per over during the opening overs, undergoing a top-order collapse, and finally forcing themselves too much to accomplish.
But whatever issues there are with their batting approach, if they had accepted their catches in the fielding area, that 203 total target would have been substantially lower.
It took them three efforts to terminate the 72-run partnership second-wicket association, with wicketkeeper Joty failing to take a challenging catch behind the stumps to remove Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu was spared from a return catch chance against Rabeya Khan.
The batter was dropped further on 55 and 63 runs, the final opportunity going right to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover position, before eventually being trapped lbw by Shorna as she tried to up the ante with partners getting out near her.
Later in the game, there was also a failed stumping and a run-out opportunity lost, while the second one was a little unlucky, with Rubya Haider deputising with the gloves after an fitness issue to the regular keeper.
Regrettably for the team, such fielding issues are nowhere near a one-off. They've dropped 14 catches from a available 27 chances at this competition and boast the lowest catching success rate (less than 50%) of the competing sides.
They are a team who are generally moving in the right direction – they are playing in only their second 50-over World Cup in the end – but poor fielding is a prominent issue which demands improvement.
