Sri Lanka defeats Bangladesh to preserve their tournament hopes ongoing
The Lankan team will confront Pakistan in their crucial last tournament match
Women's Cricket World Cup, Mumbai
Sri Lanka 202 (48.4 overs): Perera 85 (99); Shorna Akter 3-27
The Bangladeshi team 195-9 (50 overs): Nigar Sultana Joty 77 (98); Chamari Athapaththu 4-42
The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs
Sri Lanka took four crucial dismissals in the final innings segment to achieve a heart-stopping win over their opponents and maintain their faint chances of making it for the World Cup semi-finals alive.
Needing a attainable score of 203 on a favorable wicket in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team needed nine more runs from the last six balls.
Yet, Lankan skipper Athapaththu claimed three important dismissals in four bowls and Nilakshi de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida to achieve a thrilling success for Sri Lanka.
The victory – Sri Lanka's first of the competition after three defeats and two abandoned games against Australia and the Kiwi side – elevates them level on four tournament points with India and the New Zealand side, who meet each other on the coming Thursday.
The Bangladeshi team, however, suffered a fifth successive setback since winning their first match against the Pakistani team and have been eliminated.
Although the Bangladeshi side made the ideal beginning, with Marufa Akter striking with the opening bowl of the encounter to dismiss Vishmi Gunaratne, they were appropriately made to pay for a subpar fielding effort.
They offered second chances to Perera, who was missed multiple times, and Athapaththu.
Although Athapaththu could not take advantage, dismissed leg before wicket for 46 just one delivery after being dropped by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera made Bangladesh suffer.
She achieved a maiden international half-century, making 85 from 99 balls and sharing an significant 74-run stand fifth-wicket with De Silva.
The Bangladeshi team, led by Shorna's three wickets for 27 runs, pulled themselves back to the game, with De Silva's dismissal in the 34th over initiating a Sri Lanka downfall from 174-4 to 202 all out.
During their chase, Sri Lanka's starting bowlers Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani contained the opposition to 23 with one wicket down in a lacklustre initial phase and they were subsequently diminished to 44 for three.
Sharmin Akter and Nigar Sultana Joty rebuilt their score, adding an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket stand before the batter retired hurt for a stubborn 64 in the 36th over.
It was leaning toward the chasing team heading into the remaining two innings segments, with just 12 runs needed.
Yet, Dasanayaka sent back Ritu Moni and allowed only three scoring runs before the captain's decisive intervention, with Rabeya, Nahida Akter, captain Joty and Marufa Akter all removed as the Lankan team seized the victory at the death.
Bangladesh cannot hold nerve - and catches
In the end, it was a match of nerves. The highly experienced Athapaththu, who directed away a several of team-mates as she set herself to deliver the final over, held her composure. The opposition failed to.
There will be many questions about Bangladesh's batting effort. They might well have been needing 270 or 280 with Sri Lanka appearing at ease on 159 for four in the 30th over, but instead the chase was significantly less.
However, Bangladesh showed little purpose from ball one, scoring at below 2.5 runs per over during the powerplay, suffering a top-order collapse, and finally leaving themselves excessive to do.
But whatever problems there are with their batting lineup, if they had seized their catches in the fielding area, that 203 total target would have been considerably lower.
It took them three attempts to break the 72-run partnership second-wicket, with wicketkeeper Joty not managing to take a tough catch behind the stumps to send back Perera on 23 runs before the captain was spared from a caught and bowled chance possibility against Rabeya Khan.
The batter was dropped again on 55 and 63 runs, the final opportunity traveling right to Jhilik at cover, before ultimately being trapped leg before wicket by Shorna as she sought to increase the tempo with partners being dismissed beside her.
Afterwards in the game, there was furthermore a stumping chance missed and a run-out opportunity lost, while the latter was a slightly unfortunate, with Rubya Haider deputising with the wicketkeeping gloves due to an injury to the regular keeper.
Regrettably for Bangladesh, such fielding issues are not at all a one-off. They've failed to catch 14 chances from a possible 27 opportunities at this World Cup and boast the worst catching success rate (48.1%) of the eight teams.
They are a team who are typically progressing in the proper way – they are playing in merely their second one-day World Cup ultimately – but inadequate fielding performance is a glaring issue which needs attention.
