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• The landmark win over Pakistan in the Cricket World Cup will cause a ripple effect in Afghan cricket and inspire future players, Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott said soccer
  
  Afghan batters chased down the 283 target methodically, with a focus on singles and doubles to keep off the pressure, winning the match by eight wickets with six balls to spare soccer
  
  It was their second win in five games, and Afghanistan’s third-ever World Cup victory soccer
  
  It was also their first victory over neighbours Pakistan in eight One Day International (ODI) matches and the first World Cup win while chasing against a Test-playing nation soccer
  
  “This will have a great ripple effect,” Trott told reporters soccer
  
  “I want to make sure that (the players) soccer
  
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  pass it on and remember that game in Chennai when we chased on 283 against Pakistan soccer
  
  ”The Englishman called the 130-run opening partnership put on by Rehmanullah Gurbaz (65) and Ibrahim Zadran (87) the “turning point” and praised Rahmat Shah, who played through several cramps to help steady the game when the openers fell soccer
  
  “You could easily soccer
  
  soccer
  
  soccer
  
  get a bit nervous or panicky soccer
  
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  but shot that he played there to hit a straight six sort of broke the back of the game,” Trott said of Shah, who scored an unbeaten 77, 45 of which came from ones and twos soccer
  
  This win along with the Oct soccer
  
  15 triumph over defending champions England propelled Afghanistan from the bottom of the table to sixth place before facing ninth-place Sri Lanka next Monday soccer
  
  “I will say to the players make sure you enjoy these victories but as soon as we (arrive in) Pune soccer
  
  soccer
  
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  take the confidence from the game and start looking forward to Sri Lanka,” Trott said soccer
  
  ReutersMore aboutJonathan TrottPakistan cricketAfghanistan Cricket World CupJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/1Afghanistan seek ‘ripple effect’ from World Cup win over PakistanAfghanistan seek ‘ripple effect’ from World Cup win over PakistanGetty Images✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today soccer
  
  SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicssoccer BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy soccer
  
  truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply soccer
  
  Hi {{indy soccer
  
  fullName}}My Independent PremiumAccount detailsHelp centreLogout @keyframes spin{0%{transform:rotate(0)}to{transform:rotate(1turn)}} soccer
  
  
  
  It’s the game that players don’t want to play, fans don’t want to watch and the media don’t want to cover soccer
  
  All of which begs the question, why does the Rugby World Cup third/fourth place play-off still exist? Answers on a postcard please soccer
  
  Actually, the answer is fairly simple, of course soccer
  
  It follows the old adage that when you’re not sure why something counter-intuitive is happening in sport, the reason is always the same soccer
  
  Money soccer
  
  World Rugby and its sponsors will undoubtedly make a bit more cheddar from England facing Argentina on Friday evening at relatively little expense, although it remains to be seen how many of the Stade de France’s 80,000 seats are filled, let alone what sort of atmosphere those in attendance create soccer
  
  You suspect it might not quite reach the level of fan delirium that some of the other instant classics at the Paris stadium have generated during this tournament soccer
  
  Let’s not beat around the bush – World Rugby can badge it as the ‘bronze final’ all they want but the third/fourth place play-off is an entirely pointless exercise and it’s long since time that this outdated relic of a concept was given the chop soccer
  
  Please, do everyone a favour soccer
  
  In a tournament that is based around winning a trophy rather than climbing onto a medal podium, a battle for third serves precisely no purpose soccer
  
  At the Olympic Games, bronze medal matches/contests make perfect sense and having one athlete or team rightfully earn their place as a sole bronze medallist is far more satisfying than both losing semi-finalists stepping on the podium soccer
  
  But there’s no podium at a Rugby World Cup – there’s the winning team, the runners-up and then the losing semi-finalists, quarter-finalists and those who were knocked out at the group stage soccer
  
  So what are we doing here? The stakes have truly never been lower soccer
  
  Here’s a question for you, a little pub debate if you will soccer
  
  What’s your favourite ever third/fourth place play-off at a Rugby World Cup? Which one springs to mind first when you run through the Rolodex of all the iconic clashes in your mind?New Zealand comfortably beat Wales in the 2019 third-place play-off soccer
  
  Apparently soccer
  
  (Getty Images)Don’t worry, I couldn’t remember a single one either… Although a quick scroll through Wikipedia tells me that, for example, New Zealand beat Scotland 13-6 in 1991, Argentina beat France 34-10 in 2007 and Australia beat Wales 21-18 in 2011 soccer
  
  Apparently soccer
  
  If not to save the fans from its pointlessness, then how about axing the game for player safety reasons? As they proudly announced the new global calendar after 16 years of negotiations earlier this week, World Rugby consistently mentioned ‘player load management’ as one of their main drivers soccer
  
  The crowded fixture schedule and incredible physical intensity of modern rugby already push players’ bodies to their limits, so in an age of increased focus on player welfare, getting rid of an entirely worthless fixture such as this should be an easy decision soccer
  
  Imagine if one of the players gets injured in this futile fixture on Friday evening and misses months of club action as a result – it would really not be a good look soccer
  
  Of the two teams condemned to play out this fixture on Friday – rather than licking their wounds from harrowing semi-final losses last weekend and returning home to their families after five months away – Argentina have remained more on message about its importance soccer
  
  “It is the most important game of the year; it is playing for third and fourth place with this shirt,” insisted Pumas hooker Julian Montoya earlier this week soccer
  
  Oh… Well, let’s give Montoya the benefit of the doubt and assume that either something was slightly lost in translation or he has really bought into the classic coach-speak of “the most important game is always the next game” or maybe even that he was being brutally deadpan and sarcastic soccer
  
  Because otherwise, he appears to have forgotten about, for example, the semi-final he played against the All Blacks literally seven days ago when ranking his most important games of 2023 soccer
  
  Argentina will try to forget last weekend’s heavy defeat to New Zealand (Getty Images)While Montoya may have stretched the bounds of believability with his sentiment, Los Pumas genuinely do seem far more up for the game than England soccer
  
  Perhaps the combination of wanting to forget the 44-6 humbling by New Zealand, avenge the pool-stage loss to England and send off Michael Cheika, who will be replaced as head coach by Felipe Contepomi after the World Cup, in style has given them a greater sense of purpose soccer
  
  Making just three changes to the starting XV, compared to England’s eight, from the semi-final side has left them with a team much closer to full strength soccer
  
  In the fine margins of Test rugby, that fact, combined with the added motivation, may prove the difference soccer
  
  But regardless of the result, I implore World Rugby to do the right thing soccer
  
  Please make this the last-ever third/fourth place play-off and save us from having to endure this nonsense again in 2027 soccer
  
  More aboutRugby World CupWorld RugbyEngland RugbyArgentina rugbyJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/3Scrap the third-place play-off: Rugby’s pointless and outdated relicScrap the third-place play-off: Rugby’s pointless and outdated relicNew Zealand comfortably beat Wales in the 2019 third-place play-off soccer
  
  Apparently soccer
  
  Getty ImagesScrap the third-place play-off: Rugby’s pointless and outdated relicArgentina will try to forget last weekend’s heavy defeat to New Zealand Getty ImagesScrap the third-place play-off: Rugby’s pointless and outdated relicIt isn’t the third-place play-off that has made Ollie Chessum upset in this pitcure but it does evoke that reaction in a lot of people REUTERS✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today soccer
  
  SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicssoccer BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy soccer
  
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  Hi {{indy soccer
  
  fullName}}My Independent PremiumAccount detailsHelp centreLogout @keyframes spin{0%{transform:rotate(0)}to{transform:rotate(1turn)}}@keyframes slidedown-video{0%{transform:translateY(-100%)}to{transform:translateY(0)}}@keyframes slideup-video{0%{transform:translateY(200%)}to{transform:translateY(0)}} soccer
  
  

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