Sri Lanka Keep Slim World Cup Hopes Alive With Four Wickets In Bangladesh’s Final Over

Sri Lanka snatched triumph from nan jaws of conclusion to grounds their first triumph of nan Women’s Cricket World Cup, edging retired Bangladesh by 7 runs successful a nerve-jangling decorativeness successful Navi Mumbai connected Monday.

With Bangladesh cruising and only 9 needed disconnected nan last complete pinch 5 wickets successful hand, having mustered conscionable 3 runs disconnected nan penultimate over, nan captain, Chamari Athapaththu, took nan shot herself and turned nan crippled connected its head.

Four wickets tumbled successful 4 balls arsenic Bangladesh collapsed, losing 5 wickets for conscionable 2 runs. Athapaththu, calm amid nan storm, vanished pinch career-best figures of 4 for 42.

The play began pinch Rabeya Khan trapped leg-before disconnected nan first ball, followed by a run-out adjacent delivery. Then, Bangladesh’s hopes sank erstwhile their captain, Nigar Sultana, danced down nan way only to find long-off lurking. When Marufa Akter was adjudged lbw adjacent ball, Athapaththu had conjured nan unthinkable, defending 9 pinch a azygous tally conceded successful nan over.

“We handled nan unit well. We knew that if we took nan crippled deep, teams could crumble,” Athapaththu said. “It wasn’t perfect, batting collapses and dropped catches wounded us, but luck smiled astatine america today.”

For once, luck favoured Sri Lanka, whose run had been marred by rain, missed chances and misfiring batters. Hasini Perera, who struck her maiden ODI half-century, made 85 disconnected 99 balls, peppered pinch 13 fours and a six. She was nan backbone of Sri Lanka’s 202 each retired arsenic she reached nan milestone of 1,000 runs successful ODIs. A 74-run business pinch Nilakshika de Silva gave Sri Lanka a coagulated motorboat pad, earlier different illness saw six wickets autumn for 28 runs.

Even so, nan Sri Lankans held their nervus successful nan decease overs to seal nan triumph and climb to sixth successful nan standings. With 4 points, they are level pinch New Zealand and India, though will request results to spell successful their favour to drawback nan past semi-final spot. Australia, South Africa and England person already booked their places successful nan past four.

“We kept losing wickets astatine important times,” said Sultana, nan Bangladesh skipper whose fighting 77 was successful vain arsenic her broadside were eliminated. “I tried to return nan unit disconnected pinch a boundary, but it conscionable didn’t travel off.”