A post-match conversation where Shahzad spoke and Williamson listened ©AFP
Soon after New Zealand hit the winning runs, Mohammad Shahzad skimmed past his teammates to catch up with Kane Williamson.
The two men walked shoulder to shoulder on their way back to the pavilion in Abu Dhabi; the pads restricting their respective gaits and the heat their smiles as Shahzad spoke and gesticulated, and Williamson listened.
It was footage worth a thousand words. Two top-order batsmen who are utterly crucial to their team's chances, who don't necessarily align to the same visible standards of fitness but are as able-bodied as the next sportsman, and who couldn't be any more different when it comes to batting, being the sincere centre of a frame. The contrast and the metaphor on offer was hard to miss.
Shahzad scored 4 off 11 balls in a loss for Afghanistan. Williamson was unbeaten on 40 off 42 balls in a
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