The Lankan team overcomes the Bangladeshi side to keep their World Cup tournament hopes breathing

Women's Cricket World Cup, Mumbai

Sri Lanka 202 (48.4 overs): Hasini Perera 85 (99); Shorna Akter 3-27

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

Sri Lanka emerge victorious by seven runs

Sri Lanka claimed four wickets in the final innings segment to seal a nail-biting triumph over their opponents and keep their narrow aspirations of qualifying for the World Cup semi-finals alive.

Pursuing a below-par target of 203 on a favorable wicket in Navi Mumbai, the Bangladeshi team required nine runs from the last six balls.

Yet, Sri Lanka captain Chamari Athapaththu secured three important dismissals in four deliveries and de Silva ran out Nahida Akter to achieve a dramatic success for Sri Lanka.

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

The Bangladeshi team, on the other hand, endured a fifth successive loss since securing victory in their first match against Pakistan and have been knocked out.

While the Bangladeshi side made the perfect start, with Marufa striking with the first delivery of the encounter to dismiss Gunaratne, they were appropriately penalized for a poor fielding display.

They gifted second chances to Perera, who was spilled three times, and the Lankan captain.

While the Sri Lankan skipper was unable to capitalise, dismissed lbw for 46 a single bowl after being put down by Rabeya, Hasini Perera made the opposition pay.

She achieved a maiden international 50-run score, scoring 85 from 99 bowls and sharing an important 74-run stand fifth-wicket association with Nilakshi de Silva.

Bangladesh, spearheaded by Shorna's impressive bowling figures, dragged themselves back into the game, with De Silva's removal in the 34th bowling segment triggering a Sri Lanka collapse from 174 for four to 202 complete.

During their chase, Sri Lanka's starting bowlers Madara and Udeshika Prabodhani restricted the opposition to 23 for one in a uninspiring powerplay and they were later brought down to 44 with three wickets lost.

Sharmin and Joty rebuilt their batting effort, adding 82 for the fourth wicket before Sharmin withdrew due to injury for a stubborn 64 in the 36th bowling phase.

It was leaning toward Bangladesh approaching the final two innings segments, with only 12 more runs needed.

However, Sugandika Dasanayaka sent back Ritu and allowed merely three runs before Athapaththu's chaos, with Rabeya Khan, Nahida, captain Joty and Marufa Akter all dismissed as Sri Lanka grabbed the win at the final moment.

In the end, it was a match of nerves. The very experienced Lankan captain, who ushered away a few of teammates as she got ready to deliver the final over, kept her composure. Bangladesh could not.

There will be many doubts about the team's batting effort. They could easily have been pursuing 270 or 280 with the Lankan team looking at ease on 159-4 in the 30th bowling phase, but in contrast the required total was significantly less.

Yet, Bangladesh displayed insufficient purpose from the start, accumulating runs at less than 2.5 runs each over during the opening overs, undergoing a initial wicket loss, and ultimately leaving themselves overwhelming to achieve.

But no matter what issues there are with their batting approach, if they had accepted their opportunities in the fielding department, that 203-run target target would have been significantly smaller.

It needed them three tries to end the 72-run stand second-wicket association, with wicketkeeper Joty being unable to grab a tough catch while keeping to dismiss Perera on her score of 23 before Athapaththu got a reprieve from a caught and bowled chance possibility against Rabeya.

The batter was spilled once more on 55 runs and 63 runs, the latter chance going straight to Jhilik at cover field, before finally being given out lbw by Shorna Akter as she tried to up the ante with batting partners getting out near her.

Later in the innings, there was also a missed stumping and a missed run-out, while the latter was a slightly unfortunate, with Rubya Haider deputising with the keeping duties following an physical problem to Joty.

Unfortunately for Bangladesh, such fielding issues are far from a one-off. They've failed to catch 14 catches from a possible 27 opportunities at this tournament and display the worst fielding effectiveness (48.1%) of the competing sides.

They are a team who are typically progressing in the proper way – they are competing in merely their second one-day World Cup after all – but poor fielding performance is a prominent issue which requires attention.