The Lankan team defeats the Bangladeshi side to preserve their tournament hopes alive

Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi Mumbai

The Lankan team 202 (48.4 overs): Hasini Perera 85 (99); Shorna 3-27

Bangladesh 195-9 (50 overs): Nigar Sultana Joty 77 (98); Chamari Athapaththu 4-42

The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs margin

The Lankan cricket team claimed four crucial dismissals in the last innings segment to achieve a heart-stopping win over Bangladesh and preserve their faint aspirations of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals intact.

Pursuing a modest score of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh required nine more runs from the final six bowls.

Yet, Lankan skipper Athapaththu took three wickets in four balls and Nilakshi de Silva ran out Nahida to achieve a dramatic win for Sri Lanka.

The win – the Lankan team's initial of the World Cup after three defeats and two no-results against Australia and the Kiwi side – moves them level on four points with the Indian team and New Zealand, who confront each other on Thursday.

Bangladesh, on the other hand, experienced a fifth straight setback since winning their first match against Pakistan and have been knocked out.

Even though the Bangladeshi side got off to the excellent commencement, with Marufa striking with the opening bowl of the match to send back Vishmi Gunaratne, they were rightfully punished for a poor fielding effort.

They offered second chances to Perera, who was dropped multiple times, and Athapaththu.

Even though the Sri Lankan skipper was unable to capitalise, removed leg before wicket for 46 a single bowl after being dropped by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera forced Bangladesh suffer.

She scored a debut international half-century, making 85 from 99 deliveries and building an significant 74-run fifth-wicket collaboration with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, led by Shorna Akter's 3-27, pulled themselves back into the match, with De Silva's dismissal in the 34th bowling segment initiating a Lankan downfall from 174-4 to 202 complete.

In reply, the Lankan team's initial pace attack Malki Madara and Prabodhani limited Bangladesh to 23 with one wicket down in a lacklustre powerplay and they were subsequently brought down to 44 for three.

Sharmin and Joty restored their score, adding an 82-run partnership for the fourth wicket before the batter left the field injured for a resolute 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was advantage the chasing team heading into the remaining two bowling phases, with merely 12 more runs necessary.

However, Sugandika Dasanayaka removed Ritu and allowed only three scoring runs before the captain's decisive intervention, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida Akter, skipper Joty and Marufa all dismissed as the Lankan team grabbed the win at the death.

In the end, it was a match of composure. The seasoned Lankan captain, who directed away a few of teammates as she got ready to deliver the decisive over, kept her composure. Bangladesh did not.

There will be many doubts about the team's batting performance. They might well have been pursuing 270 to 280 with the Lankan team seeming at ease on 159-4 in the 30th over, but in contrast the chase was considerably smaller.

Yet, Bangladesh lacked intent from the start, accumulating runs at less than 2.5 runs per over during the powerplay, experiencing a early batting collapse, and ultimately forcing themselves excessive to do.

But no matter what difficulties there are with their batting approach, if they had accepted their catches in the fielding department, that 203-run objective would have been substantially less.

It required them three tries to terminate the 72-run second-wicket, with keeper Nigar Sultana not managing to grab a tough catch behind the stumps to remove Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu survived from a return catch possibility against Rabeya Khan.

Perera was missed further on 55 and 63, the final opportunity going directly to Jhilik at cover position, before finally being dismissed lbw by Shorna as she tried to up the ante with teammates falling around her.

Later in the game, there was also a stumping chance missed and a run-out opportunity lost, even though the second one was a slightly unlucky, with Rubya Haider deputising with the gloves following an physical problem to Joty.

Regrettably for Bangladesh, such fielding issues are far from a one-off. They've dropped 14 opportunities from a potential 27 opportunities at this World Cup and boast the worst catching success rate (48.1%) of the eight teams.

They are a side who are generally progressing in the right direction – they are competing in just their second 50-over World Cup in the end – but poor fielding is a prominent issue which requires attention.