Still Lahore Lahore aye!
The city is known for its openhearted, welcoming and friendly nature. In the past six years the city has been modernised with wide roads, huge buildings, parking plazas, overhead bridges, underpasses, more cinemas than ever. In short, the city has grown a lot in the time of isolation from international cricket. But the nature of the Lahoris has remained the same. They might be starved of the entertainment of international cricket but their hospitality remains warm. They might not able to greet the team due to the tight security but the match tickets were sold out within two days ahead of the first Twenty20.

Gaddafi Stadium back to life
With no international cricket, the state of the stands had deteriorated and the far ends of the stadium reflected a scene of gloom. The stadium used to have two press boxes - one for the local media and one for the foreigners - but with no international teams visiting, one facility had been converted into the corporate office of Pakistan Super League and the marketing department. The press conference room on the ground floor was the ugliest and most neglected room in the stadium.

But now with Zimbabwe's visit, the stadium is alive again with every corner of the venue beaming and reflecting a fresh look. The stands have been refurbished, the media facilities have suddenly been upgraded, the ugliest room has become the brightest room and journalists who rarely visited the press box in the past few years are now desperate for accreditation.

The ground and the pitches remained the best feature of the stadium through Pakistan's isolation and have been very well maintained. The surrounding stands might have been a gloomy backdrop but the ground had retained its lush, green grass. And with a foreign team romping around in the field training ahead of their first international fixtures, the venue has blossomed.

Home sweet home
Since the attack on the Sri Lanka team in 2009, Pakistan have been forced to play away from home, mostly in the UAE. The players often complained about the homesickness that came with spending more time living away from home throughout the past few years. Now the Pakistan players can feel the sense of comfort of home. They might be staying at a hotel during the series but they are just minutes away from their families.

Home advantage
Nearly three dozen players have made their debut outside Pakistan and have never played any international cricket on their home soil. Although the UAE might have been their home for the past six years, they have always been deprived of the true sense of a home advantage, an advantage that would give them confidence from playing in front of their home crowd and on grounds where they grew up playing cricket.

One of Pakistan's best prospects, Umar Akmal, has played 16 Tests, 111 ODIs and 59 T20s in the past six years but is yet to play a single fixture at home. Likewise Ahmed Shehzad, another talented batsman who became the only Pakistani to score a hundred in every format, has never played at home. Of the current squad, only Shahid Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Sami, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Hafeez and Sarfraz Ahmed have played internationals at home.

Security gates
The fears of a terrorist attack on a cricket team became a reality in 2009 when the Sri Lankans were attacked at Liberty roundabout. The incident changed everything, and gave powerful evidence that Pakistan could not be regarded as safe, even for sportsmen. Over the years that perception became stronger. Gaddafi Stadium is situated within the Nishtar Park Sports Complex and the authorities have had to protect the facility with some strong measures, installing 14 huge metal gates at every entry point into the complex to instil a sense of security for the athletes.