The Lankan team overcomes Bangladesh to preserve their World Cup tournament hopes breathing

Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai

The Lankan team 202 (48.4 overs): Perera 85 (99); Shorna Akter 3-27

The Bangladeshi team 195-9 (50 overs): Nigar Sultana Joty 77 (98); Athapaththu 4-42

The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs

Sri Lanka secured four wickets in the final innings segment to complete a heart-stopping victory over Bangladesh and maintain their narrow aspirations of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals intact.

Pursuing a attainable total of 203 on a good batting surface in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh required nine more runs from the final six balls.

However, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu took three crucial wickets in four bowls and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida to achieve a dramatic success for the Lankan team.

The win – Sri Lanka's maiden of the tournament after three defeats and two washed-out matches against Australia and New Zealand – elevates them tied on four tournament points with the Indian team and the New Zealand side, who meet each other on Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, however, experienced a fifth successive defeat since winning their first match against Pakistan and have been knocked out.

While Bangladesh got off to the excellent commencement, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the initial ball of the match to send back Gunaratne, they were deservedly penalized for a disappointing fielding display.

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

While Athapaththu was unable to capitalise, dismissed leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being dropped by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera made Bangladesh suffer.

She achieved a first international 50-run score, making 85 from 99 deliveries and sharing an important 74-run partnership fifth-wicket with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, led by Shorna Akter's 3-27, dragged themselves back in the contest, with Nilakshi's wicket in the 34th over causing a Lankan collapse from 174 for four to 202 all out.

In reply, Sri Lanka's starting bowlers Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani restricted the opposition to 23-1 in a uninspiring opening overs and they were subsequently diminished to 44 with three wickets lost.

Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty restored their batting effort, putting on 82 runs for the fourth wicket before the batter withdrew due to injury for a determined 64 in the 36th over.

It was leaning toward Bangladesh entering the final two innings segments, with merely 12 more runs required.

However, Sugandika Dasanayaka sent back Ritu and allowed only three runs before Athapaththu's dramatic spell, with Rabeya, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa all dismissed as Sri Lanka grabbed the win at the final moment.

In the end, it was a match of nerves. The highly experienced Lankan captain, who directed away a few of team-mates as she prepared to bowl the decisive over, kept her composure. The opposition failed to.

There will be plenty of doubts about the team's batting effort. They might well have been needing 270 or 280 with the Lankan team looking comfortable on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th over, but in contrast the target was significantly less.

However, Bangladesh showed little intent from the start, scoring at below 2.5 runs per over during the initial phase, undergoing a top-order collapse, and ultimately forcing themselves excessive to achieve.

But no matter what problems there are with their batting, if they had seized their opportunities in the fielding area, that 203 total objective would have been substantially smaller.

It needed them three efforts to terminate the 72-run second-wicket association, with keeper Nigar Sultana not managing to grab a difficult catch as wicketkeeper to dismiss Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before the captain was spared from a return catch opportunity against Rabeya Khan.

The batter was spilled once more on her score of 55 and 63, the latter chance flying right to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover position, before finally being dismissed leg before wicket by Shorna as she sought to up the ante with partners getting out near her.

Later in the game, there was additionally a failed stumping and a failed run-out, while the second one was a slightly unlucky, with Jhilik substituting with the keeping duties due to an injury to Joty.

Regrettably for Bangladesh, such fielding woes are far from a one-off. They've dropped 14 opportunities from a potential 27 opportunities at this World Cup and display the worst catch efficiency (less than 50%) of the eight teams.

They are a side who are typically moving in the proper way – they are playing in only their second one-day World Cup in the end – but inadequate fielding standards is a prominent concern which demands focus.