Sri Lanka defeats the Bangladeshi side to keep their tournament hopes alive
The Lankan team will confront the Pakistani side in their must-win last tournament match
Women's Cricket World Cup, Mumbai
The Lankan team 202 (48.4 overs): Perera 85 (99); Shorna 3-27
The Bangladeshi team 195-9 (50 overs): Nigar Sultana Joty 77 (98); Athapaththu 4-42
The Lankan side win by seven runs
The Lankan cricket team took four crucial dismissals in the last over to achieve a nail-biting triumph over their opponents and keep their slim hopes of qualifying for the tournament knockout stage intact.
Pursuing a below-par total of 203 on a good batting surface in the Mumbai stadium, the Bangladeshi team wanted nine additional runs from the final six bowls.
However, Lankan skipper Athapaththu took three important dismissals in four balls and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to bring about a dramatic win for Sri Lanka.
The triumph – Sri Lanka's maiden of the tournament after three losses and two no-results against Australia and New Zealand – elevates them equal on four points with India and New Zealand, who confront each other on the coming Thursday.
The Bangladeshi team, on the other hand, endured a fifth straight defeat since winning their first match against the Pakistani team and have been eliminated.
Although the Bangladeshi side got off to the ideal beginning, with Marufa Akter taking a wicket with the opening bowl of the game to dismiss Gunaratne, they were deservedly punished for a subpar fielding effort.
They gifted reprieves to Hasini Perera, who was missed multiple times, and Athapaththu.
Even though the Sri Lankan skipper failed to take advantage, dismissed leg before wicket for 46 one ball after being missed by Rabeya Khan, Perera made Bangladesh regret it.
She scored a debut international half-century, scoring 85 from 99 bowls and contributing to an crucial 74-run stand fifth-wicket with Nilakshi de Silva.
The Bangladeshi team, led by Shorna Akter's impressive bowling figures, pulled themselves back in the contest, with Nilakshi's removal in the 34th innings segment triggering a Lankan batting collapse from 174 with four wickets down to 202 total.
In reply, the Lankan team's starting bowlers Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani limited Bangladesh to 23 with one wicket down in a disappointing opening overs and they were later reduced to 44 for three.
Sharmin and Joty reconstructed their score, adding 82 for the fourth wicket collaboration before the batter retired hurt for a resolute 64 in the 36th bowling phase.
It was advantage Bangladesh heading into the final two bowling phases, with just 12 additional runs required.
Yet, Sugandika Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu Moni and conceded merely three runs before the captain's chaos, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all removed as Sri Lanka grabbed the victory at the death.
Bangladesh are unable to maintain composure - and catches
In the end, it was a game of nerves. The seasoned Athapaththu, who directed away a several of fellow players as she got ready to bowl the decisive over, maintained hers. The opposition could not.
There will be many inquiries about the team's batting display. They might well have been needing 270 or 280 with Sri Lanka looking comfortable on 159 for four in the 30th over, but in contrast the required total was considerably smaller.
Nevertheless, the batting side lacked aggression from ball one, accumulating runs at below 2.5 runs per over during the opening overs, suffering a initial wicket loss, and finally making themselves overwhelming to do.
But no matter what difficulties there are with their batting lineup, if they had taken their opportunities in the field, that 203-run target target would have been substantially less.
It required them three tries to end the 72-run stand second-wicket collaboration, with keeper Joty failing to hold a difficult catch while keeping to remove Perera on 23 before the captain survived from a caught and bowled chance possibility against Rabeya.
The batter was missed once more on 55 runs and 63 runs, the last attempt going directly to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover, before ultimately being given out lbw by Shorna as she tried to up the ante with batting partners falling near her.
Subsequently in the game, there was also a missed stumping and a missed run-out, while the run-out chance was a somewhat unfortunate, with Rubya Haider standing in with the gloves after an physical problem to Joty.
Regrettably for the team, such fielding issues are far from a isolated incident. They've failed to catch 14 catches from a possible 27 chances at this tournament and have the lowest catch efficiency (48.1 percent) of the participating teams.
They are a side who are typically heading in the right direction – they are participating in only their second 50-over World Cup in the end – but poor fielding standards is a prominent concern which requires attention.