The Lankan team beats Bangladesh to keep their World Cup campaign ongoing
The Lankan team will confront Pakistan in their decisive last group encounter
ICC Women's World Cup, Mumbai
The Lankan team 202 (48.4 overs): Hasini Perera 85 (99); Shorna 3-27
The Bangladeshi team 195-9 (50 overs): Joty 77 (98); Athapaththu 4-42
Sri Lanka win by seven runs
The Lankan cricket team secured four wickets in the decisive over to seal a heart-stopping victory over Bangladesh and maintain their faint hopes of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals alive.
Chasing a attainable total of 203 on a favorable wicket in the Mumbai stadium, Bangladesh wanted nine additional runs from the last six deliveries.
Yet, Sri Lanka captain Athapaththu secured three important dismissals in four balls and Nilakshi de Silva ran out Nahida Akter to secure a exciting success for the Lankan team.
The triumph – the Lankan team's maiden of the tournament after three losses and two no-results against the Australian team and New Zealand – moves them equal on four points with the Indian team and the New Zealand side, who face each other on Thursday.
Bangladesh, in contrast, endured a fifth straight defeat since securing victory in their tournament opener against Pakistan and have been eliminated.
Even though the Bangladeshi side made the ideal beginning, with Marufa taking a wicket with the opening bowl of the game to remove Vishmi Gunaratne, they were deservedly punished for a disappointing fielding effort.
They offered reprieves to Perera, who was missed multiple times, and the Lankan captain.
While the Sri Lankan skipper could not take advantage, dismissed leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being dropped by Rabeya, Hasini Perera forced Bangladesh suffer.
She achieved a first international fifty, accumulating 85 from 99 bowls and contributing to an crucial 74-run stand fifth-wicket association with De Silva.
Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna's impressive bowling figures, pulled themselves back to the contest, with De Silva's removal in the 34th innings segment causing a Sri Lanka batting collapse from 174-4 to 202 all out.
During their chase, the Lankan team's opening bowlers Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani limited the opposition to 23 with one wicket down in a lacklustre initial phase and they were later brought down to 44 with three wickets lost.
Sharmin Akter and Nigar Sultana Joty rebuilt their innings, contributing 82 runs for the fourth wicket before the batter withdrew due to injury for a determined 64 in the 36th bowling phase.
It was in favor of Bangladesh entering the final two bowling phases, with only 12 additional runs necessary.
However, Dasanayaka removed Ritu Moni and allowed merely three runs before the captain's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida Akter, captain Joty and Marufa Akter all dismissed as the Lankan team grabbed the win at the very end.
Bangladesh cannot hold nerve - and fielding opportunities
In the end, it was a game of nerve. The seasoned Athapaththu, who moved aside a handful of fellow players as she set herself to deliver the final over, maintained hers. Bangladesh could not.
There will be plenty of doubts about the team's batting effort. They possibly have been pursuing 270 or 280 with Sri Lanka seeming settled on 159 for four in the 30th bowling phase, but instead the target was significantly less.
Nevertheless, Bangladesh displayed insufficient intent from ball one, making runs at under 2.5 runs each over during the powerplay, experiencing a early batting collapse, and finally making themselves excessive to do.
But whatever problems there are with their batting, if they had taken their opportunities in the field, that 203-run target would have been considerably less.
It required them three efforts to end the 72-run stand second-wicket, with keeper Nigar Sultana failing to hold a difficult opportunity behind the stumps to dismiss Hasini Perera on 23 runs before Athapaththu survived from a return catch possibility against Rabeya.
The batter was spilled again on her score of 55 and 63 runs, the final opportunity traveling directly to Jhilik at cover field, before eventually being trapped lbw by Shorna Akter as she attempted to up the ante with teammates falling around her.
Subsequently in the batting effort, there was furthermore a missed stumping and a run-out opportunity lost, even though the latter was a slightly unfortunate, with Jhilik deputising with the wicketkeeping gloves due to an fitness issue to Joty.
Regrettably for Bangladesh, such fielding problems are not at all a single occurrence. They've missed 14 catches from a available 27 opportunities at this competition and display the poorest catch efficiency (less than 50%) of the eight teams.
They are a squad who are overall moving in the correct path – they are participating in only their second ODI World Cup in the end – but inadequate fielding standards is a glaring problem which demands focus.