In addition to the players, quite a few journalists have also fallen sick due to the intense cold wave that is blowing across the Punjab region. With most of them coughing and sneezing in turns, one gets the feeling of being seated in the waiting room of a clinic, awaiting our turn to visit the doctor. Crocin tablets have been in big demand suddenly. A 10-tablet strip, which a female journalist from India had casually carried with her, disappeared in a flash when everyone learnt of it .

Most players, before their fielding session, were seen warming their hands near the heater in the dressing room. Once the sun sets here, the temperature too dips drastically. The Iqbal Stadium press box is an open one and the cold breeze that blows across the ground makes it tough as the evening progresses. It gets so cold some days that one does not even get the feel of the fingers touching the key pads on the laptop.

On Monday night, one of the transformers near the stadium burst with a bang. It plunged the whole press box into total darkness. As a result, many of the reporters who hadn't saved their copies lost everything in a flash. And after that, their cry in dismay turned to be louder than the transformer blast.

The few lucky ones whose notebooks could run on battery continued as if nothing had happened. But for those who were adept only at single finger typing had to wait till electricity was restored and watch those who could do so without having to look at the keyboard.

Price increase

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), hoping to capitalise on the cricket fans' love for one-dayers, has decided to increase the price of tickets for the five match one-day series. The highest priced one has been raised from Rs2,000 to Rs2,500 and second highest from Rs1,200 to Rs1,500. Fortunately, the cost of the lower denomination tickets remains the same.