Sri Lanka beats the Bangladeshi side to preserve their campaign alive
The Lankan team will meet Pakistan in their crucial final tournament match
Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai
Sri Lanka 202 (48.4 overs): Hasini Perera 85 (99); Shorna 3-27
The Bangladeshi team 195-9 (50 overs): Joty 77 (98); Chamari Athapaththu 4-42
Sri Lanka emerge victorious by seven runs margin
The Lankan cricket team claimed four crucial dismissals in the last innings segment to achieve a thrilling victory over their opponents and keep their narrow aspirations of making it for the tournament knockout stage intact.
Chasing a attainable score of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team required nine runs from the last six balls.
However, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu claimed three crucial wickets in four bowls and Nilakshi de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida to achieve a dramatic win for Sri Lanka.
The win – Sri Lanka's initial of the competition after three defeats and two no-results against Australia and the Kiwi side – elevates them level on four points with the Indian team and the New Zealand side, who meet each other on Thursday.
The Bangladeshi team, however, experienced a fifth straight setback since winning their initial game against Pakistan and have been eliminated.
Although Bangladesh got off to the ideal beginning, with Marufa Akter striking with the opening bowl of the encounter to send back Gunaratne, they were deservedly penalized for a poor fielding effort.
They provided lifelines to Perera, who was dropped three times, and Athapaththu.
Although Athapaththu could not capitalise, sent back lbw for 46 one ball after being dropped by Rabeya, Perera forced Bangladesh regret it.
She scored a debut international fifty, accumulating 85 from 99 balls and contributing to an crucial 74-run partnership fifth-wicket collaboration with De Silva.
Bangladesh, guided by Shorna's 3-27, pulled themselves back into the contest, with De Silva's wicket in the 34th bowling segment causing a Sri Lanka batting collapse from 174-4 to 202 total.
During their chase, the Lankan team's initial pace attack Malki Madara and Prabodhani contained Bangladesh to 23 for one in a uninspiring powerplay and they were afterwards diminished to 44-3.
Sharmin Akter and Nigar Sultana Joty reconstructed their innings, contributing an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket before Sharmin withdrew due to injury for a resolute 64 in the 36th over.
It was in favor of Bangladesh entering the final two bowling phases, with only 12 additional runs required.
However, Sugandika Dasanayaka sent back Ritu and allowed merely three scoring runs before the captain's dramatic spell, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all sent back as the Lankan team grabbed the victory at the death.
Bangladesh are unable to hold nerve - and catches
In the end, it was a contest of composure. The very experienced Lankan captain, who ushered away a several of fellow players as she got ready to bowl the final over, kept hers. The opposition did not.
There will be plenty of doubts about the team's batting effort. They might well have been chasing 270 to 280 with Sri Lanka looking settled on 159 for four in the 30th innings segment, but in contrast the required total was much lower.
Nevertheless, Bangladesh displayed insufficient aggression from the very beginning, scoring at under 2.5 scoring rate during the powerplay, suffering a initial wicket loss, and finally forcing themselves too much to do.
But no matter what problems there are with their batting lineup, if they had accepted their opportunities in the fielding department, that 203 total target would have been significantly smaller.
It needed them three tries to terminate the 72-run stand second-wicket collaboration, with wicketkeeper Joty not managing to grab a difficult opportunity behind the stumps to remove Perera on 23 runs before the captain survived from a caught and bowled chance opportunity against Rabeya Khan.
The batter was spilled once more on her score of 55 and 63, the latter chance traveling straight to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover position, before ultimately being given out leg before wicket by Shorna Akter as she attempted to up the ante with partners getting out around her.
Afterwards in the innings, there was furthermore a stumping chance missed and a missed run-out, although the second one was a somewhat unlucky, with Jhilik substituting with the wicketkeeping gloves following an physical problem to Joty.
Sadly for the team, such fielding woes are not at all a one-off. They've failed to catch 14 opportunities from a available 27 opportunities at this World Cup and display the lowest catch efficiency (less than 50%) of the eight teams.
They are a side who are overall progressing in the correct path – they are playing in just their second 50-over World Cup after all – but poor fielding standards is a glaring issue which requires improvement.
