The Lankan team overcomes the Bangladeshi side to keep their World Cup campaign breathing
The Lankan team will confront the Pakistani side in their decisive final tournament encounter
Women's Cricket World Cup, Mumbai
The Lankan team 202 (48.4 overs): Hasini Perera 85 (99); Shorna Akter 3-27
Bangladesh 195-9 (50 overs): Joty 77 (98); Chamari Athapaththu 4-42
Sri Lanka win by seven runs
Sri Lanka claimed four wickets in the final over to seal a heart-stopping triumph over Bangladesh and maintain their narrow hopes of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals alive.
Needing a attainable target of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team required nine runs from the final six balls.
Nevertheless, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu took three crucial wickets in four deliveries and de Silva ran out Nahida to secure a thrilling win for Sri Lanka.
The victory – Sri Lanka's first of the tournament after three unsuccessful matches and two abandoned games against the Australian team and the Kiwi side – moves them level on four tournament points with India and New Zealand, who meet each other on the coming Thursday.
The Bangladeshi team, however, experienced a fifth consecutive setback since securing victory in their tournament opener against Pakistan and have been removed from contention.
While Bangladesh made the ideal beginning, with Marufa Akter striking with the first delivery of the encounter to send back Gunaratne, they were rightfully made to pay for a subpar fielding effort.
They offered lifelines to Perera, who was missed three times, and Athapaththu.
Although Athapaththu was unable to make it count, dismissed leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being dropped by Rabeya, Hasini Perera forced the opposition regret it.
She registered a first international 50-run score, making 85 from 99 balls and contributing to an important 74-run fifth-wicket collaboration with De Silva.
Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna Akter's 3-27, pulled themselves back in the contest, with Nilakshi's removal in the 34th innings segment initiating a Sri Lanka downfall from 174 for four to 202 all out.
During their chase, the Lankan team's initial pace attack Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani restricted the opposition to 23-1 in a disappointing initial phase and they were later diminished to 44 for three.
Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty rebuilt their innings, adding 82 for the fourth wicket collaboration before Sharmin left the field injured for a determined 64 in the 36th innings segment.
It was leaning toward the chasing team heading into the final two overs, with just 12 runs required.
Nevertheless, Sugandika Dasanayaka removed Ritu Moni and allowed only three scoring runs before Athapaththu's decisive intervention, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa Akter all removed as Sri Lanka snatched the win at the very end.
Bangladesh fail to hold nerve - and catches
In the end, it was a match of nerve. The highly experienced Athapaththu, who directed away a several of team-mates as she got ready to deliver the last over, kept her composure. Bangladesh could not.
There will be numerous inquiries about the team's batting display. They might well have been pursuing 270 or 280 with Sri Lanka appearing at ease on 159-4 in the 30th over, but instead the target was much lower.
However, the batting side showed little purpose from ball one, accumulating runs at below 2.5 runs each over during the opening overs, suffering a early batting collapse, and eventually leaving themselves overwhelming to accomplish.
But no matter what problems there are with their batting lineup, if they had taken their catches in the field, that 203-run target goal would have been substantially less.
It took them three attempts to terminate the 72-run partnership second-wicket collaboration, with keeper Nigar Sultana being unable to hold a challenging opportunity as wicketkeeper to dismiss Perera on 23 before the captain got a reprieve from a caught and bowled possibility against Rabeya Khan.
The batter was dropped once more on 55 and 63, the latter chance going directly to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover position, before eventually being given out leg before wicket by Shorna as she tried to up the ante with partners being dismissed beside her.
Subsequently in the batting effort, there was furthermore a stumping chance missed and a failed run-out, although the latter was a little regrettable, with Rubya Haider standing in with the keeping duties following an fitness issue to Joty.
Regrettably for the team, such fielding woes are not at all a isolated incident. They've dropped 14 catches from a potential 27 chances at this competition and display the worst fielding effectiveness (48.1%) of the eight teams.
They are a squad who are generally progressing in the proper way – they are competing in just their second one-day World Cup in the end – but poor fielding is a glaring concern which needs improvement.
