Sri Lanka overcomes Bangladesh to preserve their tournament hopes ongoing
The Lankan team will face the Pakistani side in their decisive final tournament game
Women's Cricket World Cup, Navi 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); Athapaththu 4-42
Sri Lanka win by seven runs
Sri Lanka secured four wickets in the decisive over to seal a thrilling triumph over their opponents and preserve their narrow hopes of making it for the World Cup semi-finals intact.
Needing a below-par target of 203 on a favorable wicket in the Mumbai stadium, the Bangladeshi team required nine more runs from the final six deliveries.
However, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu took three wickets in four balls and de Silva dismissed via run-out Nahida Akter to achieve a exciting victory for Sri Lanka.
The victory – Sri Lanka's maiden of the competition after three losses and two abandoned games against Australia and New Zealand – pushes them tied on four tournament points with India and New Zealand, who face each other on Thursday.
Bangladesh, however, suffered a fifth straight setback since winning their first match against Pakistan and have been eliminated.
Even though Bangladesh got off to the excellent commencement, with Marufa Akter striking with the initial ball of the match to remove Gunaratne, they were deservedly penalized for a disappointing fielding display.
They offered second chances to Hasini Perera, who was dropped three times, and the Lankan captain.
Even though Athapaththu failed to make it count, dismissed leg before wicket for 46 one ball after being dropped by Rabeya Khan, Hasini Perera made Bangladesh regret it.
She registered a first international fifty, scoring 85 from 99 deliveries and sharing an significant 74-run stand fifth-wicket collaboration with Nilakshi de Silva.
Bangladesh, guided by Shorna Akter's impressive bowling figures, pulled themselves back in the match, with Nilakshi's dismissal in the 34th bowling segment initiating a Lankan downfall from 174 for four to 202 total.
While batting second, Sri Lanka's starting bowlers Malki Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani limited the opposition to 23 for one in a uninspiring opening overs and they were subsequently diminished to 44 with three wickets lost.
Sharmin Akter and Joty rebuilt their score, putting on 82 for the fourth wicket stand before Sharmin withdrew due to injury for a determined 64 in the 36th bowling phase.
It was in favor of the chasing team entering the final two innings segments, with only 12 runs needed.
Yet, Dasanayaka dismissed Ritu and allowed merely three runs before Athapaththu's chaos, with Rabeya, Nahida Akter, captain Joty and Marufa all sent back as the Lankan team seized the victory at the final moment.
The Bangladeshi team fail to keep calm - and fielding opportunities
Ultimately, it was a contest of composure. The very experienced Lankan captain, who moved aside a handful of teammates as she prepared to deliver the decisive over, held her nerve. Bangladesh did not.
There will be many inquiries about the team's batting performance. They possibly have been chasing 270 to 280 with Sri Lanka looking settled on 159 for four in the 30th over, but rather the target was considerably smaller.
Nevertheless, Bangladesh displayed insufficient purpose from the start, making runs at under 2.5 runs each over during the powerplay, suffering a early batting collapse, and ultimately leaving themselves excessive to do.
But no matter what issues there are with their batting, if they had accepted their opportunities in the fielding department, that 203 total objective would have been significantly lower.
It required them three attempts to break the 72-run stand second-wicket association, with keeper Nigar Sultana not managing to hold a tough opportunity behind the stumps to dismiss Perera on 23 before Athapaththu survived from a return catch chance against Rabeya Khan.
Perera was missed further on 55 runs and 63 runs, the latter chance going straight to Jhilik at cover, before finally being dismissed lbw by Shorna Akter as she sought to increase the tempo with teammates being dismissed beside her.
Later in the innings, there was furthermore a failed stumping and a failed run-out, while the run-out chance was a somewhat unlucky, with Rubya Haider standing in with the keeping duties following an injury to Joty.
Sadly for Bangladesh, such fielding problems are not at all a one-off. They've failed to catch 14 opportunities from a potential 27 at this competition and have the worst catch efficiency (less than 50%) of the participating teams.
They are a squad who are generally heading 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 problem which demands focus.
