The Lankan team overcomes the Bangladeshi side to maintain their campaign alive

Women's Cricket World Cup, Mumbai

Sri Lanka 202 (48.4 overs): Hasini Perera 85 (99); Shorna 3-27

Bangladesh 195-9 (50 overs): Joty 77 (98); Athapaththu 4-42

Sri Lanka emerge victorious by seven runs

The Lankan cricket team secured four crucial dismissals in the last innings segment to seal a nail-biting triumph over Bangladesh and maintain their slim hopes of making it for the tournament knockout stage alive.

Chasing a attainable score of 203 on a good batting surface in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh wanted nine runs from the last six deliveries.

Yet, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu claimed three important dismissals in four balls and de Silva ran out Nahida to secure a exciting success for Sri Lanka.

The win – Sri Lanka's maiden of the tournament after three defeats and two no-results against the Australian team and New Zealand – elevates them level on four match points with India and the New Zealand side, who confront each other on Thursday.

Bangladesh, in contrast, endured a fifth straight setback since winning their tournament opener against the Pakistani team and have been removed from contention.

While the Bangladeshi side made the perfect start, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the first delivery of the encounter to remove Gunaratne, they were rightfully penalized for a poor fielding performance.

They gifted lifelines to Perera, who was dropped multiple times, and Athapaththu.

Even though the Sri Lankan skipper failed to make it count, dismissed lbw for 46 one ball after being put down by Rabeya Khan, Perera made the opposition regret it.

She registered a debut international fifty, making 85 from 99 bowls and building an crucial 74-run partnership fifth-wicket association with De Silva.

The Bangladeshi team, spearheaded by Shorna's three wickets for 27 runs, dragged themselves back into the contest, with De Silva's dismissal in the 34th over triggering a Lankan collapse from 174 with four wickets down to 202 complete.

In reply, Sri Lanka's initial pace attack Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani limited the opposition to 23 with one wicket down in a disappointing initial phase and they were afterwards reduced to 44 for three.

Sharmin and Nigar Sultana Joty reconstructed their score, contributing 82 for the fourth wicket before the batter left the field injured for a resolute 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was in favor of Bangladesh approaching the last two innings segments, with only 12 runs required.

Yet, Dasanayaka removed Ritu and allowed just three scoring runs before the captain's chaos, with Rabeya, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa all sent back as Sri Lanka snatched the triumph at the very end.

In the end, it was a contest of nerve. The very experienced Lankan captain, who moved aside a few of fellow players as she prepared to bowl the last over, kept her nerve. The opposition failed to.

There will be many questions about the team's batting effort. They could easily have been pursuing 270 or 280 with Sri Lanka seeming at ease on 159-4 in the 30th bowling phase, but instead the target was significantly less.

Yet, Bangladesh lacked purpose from ball one, accumulating runs at less than 2.5 scoring rate during the powerplay, experiencing a initial wicket loss, and eventually forcing themselves excessive to accomplish.

But whatever issues there are with their batting, if they had accepted their catches in the fielding area, that 203-run goal would have been significantly less.

It required them three attempts to end the 72-run second-wicket, with wicketkeeper Nigar Sultana failing to grab a tough catch behind the stumps to dismiss Perera on 23 runs before the captain got a reprieve from a caught and bowled opportunity against Rabeya Khan.

The batter was spilled further on 55 and 63, the last attempt going right to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover position, before finally being dismissed lbw by Shorna Akter as she attempted to increase the tempo with teammates being dismissed near her.

Subsequently in the game, there was also a stumping chance missed and a failed run-out, even though the run-out chance was a little regrettable, with Rubya Haider standing in with the gloves following an physical problem to Joty.

Sadly for Bangladesh, such fielding woes are far from a one-off. They've failed to catch 14 catches from a available 27 opportunities at this World Cup and display the worst fielding effectiveness (48.1 percent) of the eight teams.

They are a side who are typically moving in the proper way – they are playing in only their second ODI World Cup after all – but poor fielding standards is a obvious issue which requires improvement.