The Lankan team defeats the Bangladeshi side to maintain their tournament hopes alive
The Lankan team will confront the Pakistani side in their decisive last tournament match
Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai
The Lankan team 202 (48.4 overs): Hasini Perera 85 (99); Shorna 3-27
Bangladesh 195-9 (50 overs): Nigar Sultana Joty 77 (98); Athapaththu 4-42
The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs margin
Sri Lanka claimed four wickets in the last over to complete a thrilling triumph over their opponents and keep their faint chances of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals alive.
Pursuing a below-par score of 203 on a good batting surface in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh wanted nine runs from the final six bowls.
However, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu claimed three wickets in four bowls and Nilakshi de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to achieve a dramatic success for the Lankan team.
The win – Sri Lanka's initial of the competition after three losses and two no-results against the Australian team and the Kiwi side – pushes them tied on four match points with the Indian team and the New Zealand side, who face each other on the coming Thursday.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, experienced a fifth successive setback since securing victory in their first match against the Pakistani team and have been removed from contention.
Even though the Bangladeshi side got off to the perfect start, with Marufa striking with the opening bowl of the game to remove Vishmi Gunaratne, they were appropriately made to pay for a disappointing fielding performance.
They gifted second chances to Perera, who was spilled three times, and Athapaththu.
Although the Sri Lankan skipper could not take advantage, removed leg before wicket for 46 a single bowl after being missed by Rabeya, Perera made Bangladesh pay.
She scored a first international half-century, making 85 from 99 bowls and building an crucial 74-run stand fifth-wicket with Nilakshi de Silva.
Bangladesh, guided by Shorna's three wickets for 27 runs, pulled themselves back to the contest, with De Silva's wicket in the 34th innings segment initiating a Sri Lanka collapse from 174-4 to 202 total.
While batting second, Sri Lanka's initial pace attack Malki Madara and Prabodhani restricted the opposition to 23-1 in a lacklustre opening overs and they were subsequently brought down to 44 with three wickets lost.
Sharmin and Joty reconstructed their innings, putting on 82 for the fourth wicket collaboration before Sharmin left the field injured for a resolute 64 in the 36th over.
It was in favor of Bangladesh approaching the final two bowling phases, with only 12 runs necessary.
However, Dasanayaka sent back Ritu and conceded only three runs before Athapaththu's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all removed as Sri Lanka grabbed the victory at the final moment.
Bangladesh fail to hold nerve - and fielding opportunities
Ultimately, it was a contest of composure. The very experienced Athapaththu, who ushered away a handful of fellow players as she got ready to deliver the last over, maintained hers. The opposition did not.
There will be plenty of doubts about Bangladesh's batting performance. They possibly have been chasing 270 to 280 with Sri Lanka appearing at ease on 159 for four in the 30th over, but in contrast the chase was significantly less.
Yet, Bangladesh lacked intent from the very beginning, making runs at less than 2.5 runs each over during the initial phase, undergoing a top-order collapse, and eventually forcing themselves excessive to do.
But no matter what issues there are with their batting approach, if they had accepted their catches in the fielding area, that 203-run target would have been substantially smaller.
It required them three efforts to end the 72-run partnership second-wicket association, with wicketkeeper Nigar Sultana being unable to grab a tough chance behind the stumps to remove Perera on 23 runs before the captain was spared from a caught and bowled chance opportunity against Rabeya.
The batter was dropped again on 55 runs and 63, the final opportunity traveling straight to Jhilik at cover field, before ultimately being dismissed lbw by Shorna as she attempted to increase the tempo with partners being dismissed around her.
Afterwards in the batting effort, there was furthermore a missed stumping and a failed run-out, even though the second one was a slightly unlucky, with Rubya Haider substituting with the keeping duties following an injury to the regular keeper.
Sadly for Bangladesh, such fielding woes are nowhere near a single occurrence. They've dropped 14 chances from a available 27 opportunities at this World Cup and have the lowest catch efficiency (less than 50%) of the eight teams.
They are a side who are generally moving in the correct path – they are playing in merely their second one-day World Cup after all – but poor fielding standards is a glaring issue which needs focus.
