Sri Lanka overcomes Bangladesh to maintain their tournament hopes breathing
The Lankan team will confront Pakistan in their crucial final group game
ICC Women's World Cup, Navi Mumbai
The Lankan team 202 (48.4 overs): Perera 85 (99); Shorna 3-27
Bangladesh 195-9 (50 overs): Joty 77 (98); Chamari Athapaththu 4-42
The Lankan side emerge victorious by seven runs
Sri Lanka secured four wickets in the decisive innings segment to complete a thrilling triumph over their opponents and maintain their faint chances of qualifying for the tournament knockout stage ongoing.
Needing a attainable target of 203 on a batting-friendly pitch in Navi Mumbai, Bangladesh needed nine more runs from the last six balls.
However, Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu claimed three crucial wickets in four balls and de Silva ran out Nahida to achieve a thrilling win for Sri Lanka.
The triumph – the Lankan team's first of the competition after three losses and two abandoned games against Australia and New Zealand – pushes them equal on four tournament points with India and New Zealand, who face each other on the coming Thursday.
Bangladesh, in contrast, suffered a fifth successive defeat since winning their first match against Pakistan and have been removed from contention.
Even though the Bangladeshi side made the excellent commencement, with Marufa striking with the first delivery of the match to remove Vishmi Gunaratne, they were rightfully penalized for a disappointing fielding display.
They gifted lifelines to Hasini Perera, who was dropped multiple times, and Athapaththu.
While Athapaththu could not capitalise, removed leg before wicket for 46 a single bowl after being put down by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera forced Bangladesh pay.
She scored a maiden international fifty, accumulating 85 from 99 deliveries and sharing an significant 74-run stand fifth-wicket association with De Silva.
The Bangladeshi team, spearheaded by Shorna's 3-27, pulled themselves back in the contest, with Nilakshi's dismissal in the 34th bowling segment causing a Lankan collapse from 174-4 to 202 complete.
In reply, the Lankan team's opening bowlers Madara and Prabodhani contained the opposition to 23 with one wicket down in a uninspiring opening overs and they were later reduced to 44-3.
Sharmin Akter and Joty rebuilt their innings, putting on 82 for the fourth wicket stand before the batter retired hurt for a stubborn 64 in the 36th bowling phase.
It was advantage Bangladesh heading into the remaining two innings segments, with only 12 more runs required.
Nevertheless, Dasanayaka removed Ritu Moni and conceded only three scoring runs before Athapaththu's dramatic spell, with Rabeya, Nahida, skipper Joty and Marufa Akter all removed as Sri Lanka seized the win at the very end.
The Bangladeshi team cannot keep calm - and fielding opportunities
Ultimately, it was a match of composure. The seasoned Lankan captain, who ushered away a handful of team-mates as she prepared to bowl the decisive over, held her composure. Bangladesh could not.
There will be numerous questions about the team's batting performance. They might well have been pursuing around 270-280 with Sri Lanka seeming comfortable on 159 for four in the 30th bowling phase, but rather the required total was considerably smaller.
However, Bangladesh displayed insufficient aggression from the start, scoring at less than 2.5 scoring rate during the initial phase, experiencing a initial wicket loss, and finally forcing themselves overwhelming to accomplish.
But whatever difficulties there are with their batting, if they had accepted their opportunities in the field, that 203-run objective would have been considerably less.
It took them three tries to end the 72-run second-wicket, with wicketkeeper Nigar Sultana failing to take a difficult chance while keeping to remove Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu was spared from a return catch opportunity against Rabeya Khan.
Perera was missed further on her score of 55 and her score of 63, the last attempt flying right to Rubya Haider Jhilik at cover position, before eventually being dismissed lbw by Shorna Akter as she attempted to increase the tempo with partners being dismissed beside her.
Subsequently in the game, there was furthermore a stumping chance missed and a failed run-out, although the latter was a slightly regrettable, with Jhilik deputising with the keeping duties following an fitness issue to the regular keeper.
Sadly for the team, such fielding woes are far from a single occurrence. They've dropped 14 catches from a available 27 opportunities at this tournament and display the poorest fielding effectiveness (less than 50%) of the eight teams.
They are a side who are generally moving in the correct path – they are competing in merely their second one-day World Cup in the end – but inadequate fielding standards is a obvious issue which needs attention.
