It was nervous, it was unconvincing, and it was a victory that Australia desperately needed after falling to India three days earlier. The five-wicket win over Sri Lanka at the Waca Ground kept the host nation’s hopes alive, but there promises to be some soul-searching within the Australian camp as they prepare for their match against Bangladesh later this week.

Rachael Haynes proved the difference in the end, with a smart 60 from 47 balls. Her partnership with Meg Lanning settled the hosts after three quick wickets left them reeling at 10-3 inside four overs, conjuring up memories of the tournament opener in Sydney.

“Walking out to bat, it wasn’t an ideal situation but knowing one of the best batters in the world is at the other end, I knew we just had to knuckle down and get a really good partnership and we could get ourselves back in the game,” said Haynes.

“The ball was sliding on. I don’t think turn or swing was playing too much of a factor by the time I got out there. It was just about trusting your game. It was actually much easier batting out there – once I got off the field I couldn’t watch.”

The partnership between Lanning and Haynes started slowly and sent the match into cautious territory, as both teams went into defensive mode. Like a pair of track cyclists the teams warily watched each other, waiting for someone to make the first aggressive move.

Poor fielding plagued Sri Lanka with a number of fumbled balls and dropped catches, while the Australians prodded and poked at the ball, turning over the strike but unable to accelerate and take control of the game.

Haynes eventually grew tired of the slow accumulation and opened up, with two consecutive sixes in the 16th over that gave the players and spectators the kind of confidence that the win predictor had been exhibiting all match.

Questions still remain over the form and fitness of Belinda Clark medallist Ellyse Perry, who was bumped down the order to seven. Although she scored a vital five from four balls to finish the game, it did not look like a convincing follow up to her surprise golden duck in Sydney.

Australian assistant coach Shelley Nitchke stressed the importance of staying calm and remaining flexible in the face of adversity.

“I think it’s important to try and relax [when early wickets fall] because there is some tension that flows through the dugout,” she said. “We have a flexible batting line up, so we just try to talk about who might come in next.”

Chamari Atapattu hit 50 from 38 balls for Sri Lanka. Photograph: Richard Wainwright/AAP

While the wickets didn’t flow as freely as they would have liked, the Australians can take some heart from their bowling performance, which allowed them time to settle and form a partnership even after the nervous start to their innings.

With a sub-par bowling performance against India still playing on her mind, Megan Schutt opened the bowling and had an immediate impact, dismissing Hasini Madushika for a duck in the first over.

But from there Sri Lanka started to fire, with Chamari Atapattu the key to their innings. The Australian bowlers weren’t able to get their line right, bowling too full and wide to the Sri Lankan captain as she cruised to 50 from 38 balls.

Nicola Carey, who was left out of the playing squad for the first match, eventually took the crucial wicket and Molly Strano put the brakes on further with two wickets in an over to limit Sri Lanka to 122-6.

“I try to play my natural game and unfortunately I got out in the 14th over, but if I stayed three or four more overs, that would have changed the game,” said Atapattu after the match.

It might not have been the regulation win Australia would have preferred, Lanning was quietly confident it would provide the spark her team needed.

“It’s certainly a nice feeling to have a win on the board,” she said. “We would have liked to have played better and we definitely need to improve heading into the next couple of games, but sometimes it’s good to just get off the mark.”