Sri Lanka defeats the Bangladeshi side to maintain their tournament hopes ongoing
The Lankan team will confront the Pakistani side in their crucial final group game
Women's Cricket 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): Nigar Sultana Joty 77 (98); Chamari Athapaththu 4-42
Sri Lanka win by seven runs
The Lankan cricket team took four wickets in the decisive innings segment to seal a thrilling triumph over their opponents and preserve their slim aspirations of making it for the World Cup semi-finals intact.
Chasing a modest score of 203 on a good batting surface in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh needed nine more runs from the remaining six deliveries.
Nevertheless, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu claimed three important dismissals in four bowls and de Silva ran out Nahida Akter to bring about a dramatic victory for the Lankan team.
The triumph – the Lankan team's maiden of the tournament after three defeats and two no-results against the Australian team and New Zealand – elevates them level on four points with India and New Zealand, who meet each other on Thursday.
Bangladesh, however, suffered a fifth successive defeat since winning their initial game against Pakistan and have been eliminated.
Although Bangladesh made the excellent commencement, with Marufa Akter striking with the opening bowl of the game to send back Gunaratne, they were rightfully penalized for a subpar fielding effort.
They offered reprieves to Hasini Perera, who was missed three times, and Athapaththu.
Although Athapaththu was unable to take advantage, removed lbw for 46 a single bowl after being missed by Rabeya Khan, Perera made Bangladesh pay.
She registered a first international fifty, scoring 85 from 99 balls and building an important 74-run fifth-wicket with Nilakshi de Silva.
The Bangladeshi team, led by Shorna's three wickets for 27 runs, pulled themselves back in the game, with De Silva's wicket in the 34th bowling segment triggering a Sri Lanka collapse from 174-4 to 202 complete.
In reply, Sri Lanka's opening bowlers Malki Madara and Prabodhani restricted Bangladesh to 23 for one in a uninspiring initial phase and they were subsequently diminished to 44-3.
Sharmin Akter and Nigar Sultana Joty rebuilt their innings, contributing 82 runs for the fourth wicket stand before the batter left the field injured for a determined 64 in the 36th bowling phase.
It was advantage the chasing team entering the last two overs, with merely 12 runs necessary.
Yet, Sugandika Dasanayaka removed Ritu and gave away just three runs before the captain's dramatic spell, with Rabeya, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa all sent back as the Lankan team seized the victory at the very end.
The Bangladeshi team cannot hold nerve - and catches
Ultimately, it was a match of composure. The highly experienced Lankan captain, who ushered away a few of teammates as she got ready to bowl the last over, maintained hers. Bangladesh did not.
There will be plenty of inquiries about Bangladesh's batting effort. They might well have been chasing 270 to 280 with the Lankan team appearing at ease on 159 for four in the 30th innings segment, but in contrast the target was much lower.
However, Bangladesh displayed insufficient purpose from the very beginning, scoring at below 2.5 runs each over during the opening overs, undergoing a initial wicket loss, and eventually leaving themselves too much to achieve.
But whatever issues there are with their batting, if they had seized their opportunities in the fielding department, that 203-run target goal would have been substantially smaller.
It took them three attempts to end the 72-run second-wicket collaboration, with wicketkeeper Nigar Sultana not managing to hold a tough opportunity while keeping to send back Hasini Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu survived from a caught and bowled chance against Rabeya Khan.
Perera was dropped once more on 55 runs and 63, the last attempt traveling right to Jhilik at cover, before finally being trapped lbw by Shorna Akter as she tried to increase the tempo with partners being dismissed around her.
Later in the batting effort, there was also a missed stumping and a failed run-out, although the run-out chance was a slightly unfortunate, with Rubya Haider deputising with the gloves following an fitness issue to the regular keeper.
Sadly for Bangladesh, such fielding issues are nowhere near a single occurrence. They've dropped 14 catches from a available 27 chances at this World Cup and boast the worst catching success rate (48.1 percent) of the eight teams.
They are a side who are typically moving in the correct path – they are playing in just their second ODI World Cup in the end – but substandard fielding performance is a glaring concern which needs focus.