Sri Lanka defeats the Bangladeshi side to maintain their World Cup tournament hopes ongoing
The Lankan team will meet Pakistan in their decisive last group game
ICC Women's World Cup, Navi Mumbai
The Lankan team 202 (48.4 overs): Hasini Perera 85 (99); Shorna Akter 3-27
The Bangladeshi team 195-9 (50 overs): Joty 77 (98); Athapaththu 4-42
The Lankan side win by seven runs margin
Sri Lanka claimed four wickets in the final over to achieve a nail-biting victory over their opponents and maintain their faint chances of making it for the tournament knockout stage alive.
Chasing a modest total of 203 on a favorable wicket in the Mumbai stadium, the Bangladeshi team needed nine runs from the final six deliveries.
Nevertheless, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu claimed three crucial wickets in four deliveries and de Silva ran out Nahida to secure a thrilling success for Sri Lanka.
The win – the Lankan team's initial of the competition after three unsuccessful matches and two abandoned games against Australia and the Kiwi side – elevates them tied on four match points with the Indian team and the New Zealand side, who meet each other on the coming Thursday.
The Bangladeshi team, however, endured a fifth straight setback since securing victory in their first match against Pakistan and have been knocked out.
Although the Bangladeshi side made the ideal beginning, with Marufa striking with the opening bowl of the match to send back Gunaratne, they were appropriately made to pay for a disappointing fielding effort.
They offered second chances to Hasini Perera, who was dropped on three occasions, and the Lankan captain.
Although the Sri Lankan skipper was unable to make it count, dismissed leg before wicket for 46 a single bowl after being dropped by Rabeya Khan, Perera forced Bangladesh regret it.
She scored a first international 50-run score, scoring 85 from 99 balls and building an significant 74-run fifth-wicket collaboration with Nilakshi de Silva.
The Bangladeshi team, guided by Shorna Akter's 3-27, dragged themselves back into the contest, with Nilakshi's dismissal in the 34th over initiating a Sri Lanka batting collapse from 174-4 to 202 complete.
During their chase, the Lankan team's starting bowlers Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani limited the opposition to 23-1 in a disappointing powerplay and they were afterwards brought down to 44 with three wickets lost.
Sharmin Akter and Joty restored their score, adding 82 for the fourth wicket stand before Sharmin withdrew due to injury for a determined 64 in the 36th over.
It was advantage the chasing team entering the final two overs, with just 12 more runs necessary.
Yet, Dasanayaka removed Ritu and conceded just three scoring runs before the captain's chaos, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all dismissed as the Lankan team snatched the win at the final moment.
Bangladesh are unable to hold nerve - and fielding opportunities
Ultimately, it was a contest of composure. The seasoned Athapaththu, who directed away a several of team-mates as she prepared to deliver the decisive over, held hers. Bangladesh could not.
There will be numerous doubts about the team's batting performance. They possibly have been needing 270 to 280 with the Lankan team looking comfortable on 159 for four in the 30th bowling phase, but in contrast the chase was considerably smaller.
Nevertheless, Bangladesh displayed insufficient aggression from the very beginning, making runs at less than 2.5 scoring rate during the opening overs, experiencing a initial wicket loss, and eventually forcing themselves excessive to achieve.
But whatever problems there are with their batting, if they had taken their opportunities in the fielding area, that 203 total goal would have been considerably less.
It required them three attempts to end the 72-run stand second-wicket, with keeper Nigar Sultana being unable to take a difficult chance while keeping to dismiss Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu got a reprieve from a caught and bowled chance opportunity against Rabeya Khan.
The batter was spilled again on 55 and 63, the final opportunity flying right to Jhilik at cover, before finally being dismissed leg before wicket by Shorna as she attempted to increase the tempo with batting partners being dismissed beside her.
Later in the game, there was additionally a stumping chance missed and a failed run-out, although the latter was a slightly unlucky, with Jhilik deputising with the gloves due to an physical problem to Joty.
Regrettably for the team, such fielding woes are far from a single occurrence. They've missed 14 chances from a possible 27 chances at this tournament and boast the poorest fielding effectiveness (48.1 percent) of the participating teams.
They are a side who are overall heading in the correct path – they are playing in only their second ODI World Cup in the end – but substandard fielding standards is a prominent problem which needs focus.
