The Lankan team defeats the Bangladeshi side to maintain their tournament hopes alive

ICC Women's World Cup, Mumbai

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

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

The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs margin

The Lankan cricket team claimed four crucial dismissals in the final innings segment to complete a thrilling win over their opponents and maintain their faint hopes of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals alive.

Pursuing a attainable target of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team wanted nine additional runs from the remaining six deliveries.

However, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu claimed three crucial wickets in four bowls and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida to secure a exciting victory for the Lankan team.

The win – the Lankan team's maiden of the World Cup after three unsuccessful matches and two washed-out matches against Australia and the Kiwi side – elevates them equal on four match points with India and the New Zealand side, who face each other on Thursday.

The Bangladeshi team, in contrast, endured a fifth straight setback since winning their initial game against Pakistan and have been eliminated.

While the Bangladeshi side got off to the excellent commencement, with Marufa Akter striking with the opening bowl of the game to dismiss Gunaratne, they were rightfully made to pay for a subpar fielding display.

They gifted reprieves to Hasini Perera, who was dropped three times, and the Lankan captain.

While the Sri Lankan skipper was unable to make it count, dismissed lbw for 46 one ball after being dropped by Rabeya, Perera made the opposition regret it.

She achieved a debut international fifty, making 85 from 99 deliveries and contributing to an important 74-run partnership fifth-wicket association with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, led by Shorna Akter's 3-27, dragged themselves back into the match, with Nilakshi's wicket in the 34th innings segment causing a Sri Lanka batting collapse from 174 with four wickets down to 202 complete.

During their chase, Sri Lanka's initial pace attack Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani contained Bangladesh to 23 for one in a disappointing powerplay and they were later diminished to 44 for three.

Sharmin and Joty reconstructed their innings, adding an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket collaboration before the batter left the field injured for a determined 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was in favor of Bangladesh entering the last two innings segments, with only 12 additional runs necessary.

However, Sugandika Dasanayaka sent back Ritu and allowed just three scoring runs before Athapaththu's chaos, with Rabeya, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa all removed as Sri Lanka grabbed the victory at the final moment.

In the end, it was a game of nerve. The very experienced Lankan captain, who moved aside a handful of teammates as she prepared to deliver the decisive over, maintained her nerve. Bangladesh failed to.

There will be numerous questions about the team's batting performance. They possibly have been needing 270 to 280 with Sri Lanka appearing at ease on 159 with four wickets down in the 30th bowling phase, but rather the target was considerably smaller.

Yet, Bangladesh showed little aggression from the start, making runs at below 2.5 scoring rate during the initial phase, undergoing a top-order collapse, and ultimately making themselves overwhelming to achieve.

But whatever problems there are with their batting lineup, if they had seized their opportunities in the fielding department, that 203-run target objective would have been considerably smaller.

It needed them three tries to end the 72-run second-wicket collaboration, with keeper Joty failing to take a difficult catch as wicketkeeper to remove Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before the captain was spared from a caught and bowled possibility against Rabeya.

Perera was missed once more on 55 and 63 runs, the last attempt going right to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before eventually being given out lbw by Shorna as she attempted to accelerate the scoring with partners getting out beside her.

Later in the innings, there was also a missed stumping and a missed run-out, while the latter was a little unfortunate, with Rubya Haider deputising with the wicketkeeping gloves following an injury to the regular keeper.

Unfortunately for the team, such fielding woes are far from a single occurrence. They've dropped 14 opportunities from a possible 27 at this tournament and display the lowest catching success rate (48.1%) of the competing sides.

They are a squad who are overall heading in the right direction – they are playing in only their second ODI World Cup ultimately – but inadequate fielding is a glaring problem which requires focus.