The Lankan team defeats Bangladesh to keep their World Cup campaign ongoing
The Lankan team will face the Pakistani side in their crucial final tournament match
ICC Women's World Cup, Navi Mumbai
The Lankan team 202 (48.4 overs): Perera 85 (99); Shorna 3-27
Bangladesh 195-9 (50 overs): Nigar Sultana Joty 77 (98); Chamari Athapaththu 4-42
Sri Lanka emerge victorious by seven runs
The Lankan cricket team took four crucial dismissals in the decisive over to achieve a nail-biting triumph over their opponents and preserve their narrow aspirations of making it for the tournament knockout stage intact.
Needing a modest total of 203 on a good batting surface in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh needed nine runs from the final six bowls.
Yet, Lankan skipper Athapaththu took three important dismissals in four deliveries and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to achieve a thrilling victory for Sri Lanka.
The victory – Sri Lanka's maiden of the World Cup after three defeats and two no-results against the Australian team and the Kiwi side – elevates them equal on four tournament points with India and New Zealand, who confront each other on Thursday.
Bangladesh, in contrast, endured a fifth straight loss since winning their initial game against the Pakistani team and have been eliminated.
Even though Bangladesh made the perfect start, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the initial ball of the match to dismiss Vishmi Gunaratne, they were appropriately made to pay for a subpar fielding effort.
They provided second chances to Perera, who was spilled three times, and Athapaththu.
Although Athapaththu failed to make it count, sent back lbw for 46 one ball after being put down by Rabeya, Hasini Perera made Bangladesh regret it.
She scored a first international fifty, accumulating 85 from 99 balls and contributing to an significant 74-run partnership fifth-wicket collaboration with De Silva.
Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna's 3-27, fought themselves back to the game, with De Silva's wicket in the 34th innings segment causing a Lankan batting collapse from 174-4 to 202 complete.
In reply, the Lankan team's initial pace attack Malki Madara and Prabodhani restricted the opposition to 23 for one in a lacklustre initial phase and they were subsequently brought down to 44 with three wickets lost.
Sharmin and Joty rebuilt their score, contributing an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket before Sharmin retired hurt for a determined 64 in the 36th innings segment.
It was in favor of Bangladesh entering the remaining two overs, with merely 12 additional runs necessary.
Nevertheless, Sugandika Dasanayaka removed Ritu Moni and conceded just three scoring runs before the captain's chaos, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all sent back as Sri Lanka snatched the triumph at the final moment.
Bangladesh fail to keep calm - and catches
Ultimately, it was a match of nerves. The very experienced Athapaththu, who directed away a several of teammates as she set herself to bowl the decisive over, maintained her composure. Bangladesh failed to.
There will be numerous doubts about the team's batting effort. They possibly have been pursuing 270 to 280 with the Lankan team seeming settled on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th over, but instead the target was much lower.
Yet, the batting side displayed insufficient aggression from ball one, scoring at less than 2.5 runs per over during the initial phase, undergoing a early batting collapse, and finally forcing themselves overwhelming to accomplish.
But whatever difficulties there are with their batting lineup, if they had accepted their opportunities in the fielding department, that 203-run target target would have been substantially less.
It took them three attempts to break the 72-run stand second-wicket association, with keeper Nigar Sultana not managing to hold a difficult opportunity while keeping to remove Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu was spared from a return catch opportunity against Rabeya.
The batter was dropped once more on 55 and 63 runs, the last attempt flying right to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before ultimately being trapped leg before wicket by Shorna Akter as she attempted to increase the tempo with teammates getting out near her.
Later in the batting effort, there was also a failed stumping and a run-out opportunity lost, although the second one was a little unlucky, with Rubya Haider standing in with the gloves after an fitness issue to the regular keeper.
Regrettably for Bangladesh, such fielding woes are nowhere near a single occurrence. They've dropped 14 opportunities from a potential 27 at this competition and boast the poorest catch efficiency (48.1 percent) of the participating teams.
They are a team who are typically progressing in the right direction – they are competing in just their second ODI World Cup in the end – but inadequate fielding standards is a obvious concern which demands attention.
