The Lankan team beats the Bangladeshi side to keep their tournament hopes ongoing
The Lankan team will confront the Pakistani side in their crucial final tournament game
Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai
The Lankan team 202 (48.4 overs): Hasini Perera 85 (99); Shorna Akter 3-27
Bangladesh 195-9 (50 overs): Nigar Sultana Joty 77 (98); Athapaththu 4-42
The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs margin
The Lankan cricket team took four crucial dismissals in the last over to achieve a thrilling triumph over Bangladesh and maintain their faint hopes of making it for the World Cup semi-finals ongoing.
Chasing a modest total of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in the Mumbai stadium, the Bangladeshi team required nine additional runs from the last six bowls.
Yet, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu secured three wickets in four bowls and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida to achieve a thrilling success for the Lankan team.
The victory – Sri Lanka's initial of the World Cup after three losses and two washed-out matches against Australia and New Zealand – pushes them level on four points with India and the New Zealand side, who confront each other on Thursday.
Bangladesh, on the other hand, experienced a fifth successive loss since winning their initial game against Pakistan and have been removed from contention.
Even though the Bangladeshi side got off to the ideal beginning, with Marufa Akter striking with the opening bowl of the game to dismiss Vishmi Gunaratne, they were deservedly penalized for a disappointing fielding effort.
They offered reprieves to Hasini Perera, who was dropped on three occasions, and the Lankan captain.
Even though the Sri Lankan skipper could not take advantage, sent back lbw for 46 a single bowl after being missed by Rabeya, Perera made the opposition regret it.
She achieved a first international fifty, making 85 from 99 deliveries and contributing to an crucial 74-run fifth-wicket collaboration with De Silva.
Bangladesh, led by Shorna Akter's 3-27, pulled themselves back to the game, with Nilakshi's removal in the 34th innings segment triggering a Sri Lanka batting collapse from 174 for four to 202 all out.
During their chase, the Lankan team's opening bowlers Madara and Prabodhani restricted Bangladesh to 23-1 in a disappointing initial phase and they were afterwards reduced to 44 for three.
Sharmin Akter and Nigar Sultana Joty restored their innings, putting on an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket collaboration before Sharmin left the field injured for a determined 64 in the 36th bowling phase.
It was in favor of Bangladesh approaching the final two bowling phases, with only 12 runs needed.
Nevertheless, Dasanayaka sent back Ritu and allowed only three scoring runs before Athapaththu's decisive intervention, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa all dismissed as Sri Lanka snatched the victory at the final moment.
The Bangladeshi team fail to hold nerve - and catches
Finally, it was a match of composure. The highly experienced Athapaththu, who ushered away a handful of fellow players as she set herself to bowl the final over, maintained her composure. Bangladesh could not.
There will be many doubts about the team's batting display. They might well have been needing 270 or 280 with the Lankan team appearing comfortable on 159-4 in the 30th over, but in contrast the chase was considerably smaller.
Nevertheless, Bangladesh displayed insufficient intent from the very beginning, making runs at below 2.5 runs each over during the powerplay, suffering a top-order collapse, and eventually forcing themselves excessive to do.
But whatever difficulties there are with their batting approach, if they had seized their catches in the fielding area, that 203-run target goal would have been significantly lower.
It needed them three tries to end the 72-run partnership second-wicket association, with wicketkeeper Nigar Sultana not managing to grab a difficult catch as wicketkeeper to remove Hasini Perera on 23 runs before the captain survived from a return catch chance against Rabeya Khan.
Perera was dropped again on 55 runs and 63, the last attempt traveling directly to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before eventually being dismissed leg before wicket by Shorna as she tried to increase the tempo with partners falling beside her.
Later in the batting effort, there was additionally a missed stumping and a missed run-out, although the second one was a somewhat regrettable, with Jhilik standing in with the wicketkeeping gloves following an physical problem to Joty.
Unfortunately for Bangladesh, such fielding issues are nowhere near a isolated incident. They've dropped 14 catches from a possible 27 opportunities at this competition and have the lowest catching success rate (less than 50%) of the eight teams.
They are a team who are generally progressing in the proper way – they are participating in only their second ODI World Cup ultimately – but inadequate fielding standards is a prominent problem which demands attention.
