Benaud-Qadir series finale sets the scene for a touching return to Lahore
The third and final Test between Pakistan and Australia will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
The famous stadium will be hosting an international Test match for the first time in 13 years.
In an emotional return to the venue, the Benaud-Qadir series decider will be the first time a Test is played in Lahore since the infamous 2009 terror attack on the Sri Lankan team bus.
Test cricket hit rock bottom that day, as the attack left six security personnel and two members of the public deceased in Pakistan's second-largest city.
I think this was the last Test Match i played at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore in 2006.
So good to see Test Cricket returning to good old Gaddafi after that fateful March morning in 2009. It took 13 years. https://t.co/vKGsWmkbJl
All Australian and Pakistani players in today's match will be playing at the venue for the first time.
However, on-field umpire Ahsan Raza was present on that tragic March day in 2009. He was critically injured when the Sri Lankan team bus and match officials' van were attacked by 10-15 heavily armed terrorists.
It has been a long road back since that day, and with the current series poised at 0-0, it beckons to be a momentous occasion for many reasons.
No current Pakistani player has played a Test match at the Gaddafi Ground. Among those players, Azhar Ali will be playing in his 94th Test, but just the first at his home ground.
Australia haven't played at the venue since 1994, and they were also the first touring nation to play in Lahore in 1959.
Good morning, Lahore!
#BoysReadyHain l #PAKvAUS https://t.co/fzAucmtJ0T
Captain Babar Azam was a ball-boy when Pakistan took on South Africa at the venue in 2007, meaning this somewhat homecoming remains special for the 27 year-old.
"It's a special occasion," Babar Azam said speaking to the media. "When you play in front of your crowd and they support you, that feeling is so good, I can't explain it. We're so happy that cricket is back and we're playing against such a big team here."
Will Lahore's pitch prove to be more conducive for bowling?
The first two tests produced two draws - one exciting and one lamentable. The third Test match is again expected to favor the bat, making another five-day affair likely.
The pitch in Rawalpindi was rated "below average" by the ICC, while that of Karachi also wasn't looked upon favorably by authorities. So far in two Tests, 2300 runs have been scored - with eight individual centuries - for the loss of just 14 wickets in the first Test and 18 in the second.
In a series that has seen bat dominate the ball, Australian captain Pat Cummins told the media he is expecting more of the same this week in Lahore.
"In terms of the wicket, it will be quite similar to the first two Test matches. There has been quite a lot of traffic here throughout the PSL. So I will expect a lot like that first two matches," he said.
A rarely seen tinge of green at Lahore.
First Test match at Gaddafi since 2009.
Series decider.
Pumped! https://t.co/L7ALOUJEup
However, there hasn't been a Test in Lahore for 13 years, and the pitch remains an unknown quantity, with some posing the question early on about its potential grass coverage.