India in SL

Gary Kirsten does not believe his absence will have a detrimental effect on India when the final Test begins on Friday.

Kirsten flew home to his native South Africa on Tuesday night after he was granted compassionate leave by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to be with his ill mother.

Kirsten leaves his team with the series poised at 1-1 after the tourists recorded a 170-run win in Galle last week.

That victory went a long way to putting the indignity of their innings-and-239-run defeat in the first Test out of mind and keep alive hopes of a first series win in Sri Lanka since 1993.

And Kirsten believes his experienced team, led by 129-Test veteran Anil Kumble, will be more than capable of devising a successful strategy without him.

"I have complete faith in what Anil can do. He can come and take over the reins," Kirsten told The Hindu.

"There is a calm focus and humility about how we go about it. There is no arrogance in the environment.

"These players are aware of what they need to do. And they are right on track in terms of their preparation. They know they have an opportunity to make history. And when each individual gets into that space we will be quite difficult to beat."

The Indians are likely to go into the match with an unchanged line-up in what will be star batsman Sachin Tendulkar's 150th Test match.

Tendulkar will become the first India player to reach the milestone, and just the third in history behind Australian duo Steve Waugh (168) and Alan Border (156), while he could also mark the occasion by surpassing Brian Lara's record of 11,953 Test runs.

Tendulkar is only 96 runs short of Lara's record although he has struggled this series, like the majority of the India middle-order in this series, scoring 75 runs in four innings.

Fellow veterans Rahul Dravid (70) and Sourav Ganguly (43) have also failed to deliver with the bat under the threat of spin duo Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis.

Mendis, in his first Test series, has seamlessly stepped into the Test arena after he rose to prominence in last month's Asia Cup final, when he took six for 13 in a match-winning display against India.

The 23-year-old has equally proven to be a handful in the Test series claiming 18 wickets, two more than Muralitharan, as the duo have combined for 34 of the 40 Indian wickets to fall.

As impressive as that statistic is for the spinners it is equally as damning for the Sri Lankan pace attack, which has been headed by veteran Chaminda Vaas (four wickets) and Nuwan Kulasekara (one).

With the P Saravanamuttu Stadium expected to offer more assistance for the pace bowlers the way may be paved for 25-year-old seamer Dammika Prasad to make his Test debut after he troubled the Indian batsmen in a warm-up game in Colombo to begin the tour.

Michael Vandort's place at the top of the order is also under threat as he has contributed just 17 runs in three innings, however batsman Kumar Sangakkara has refused to speculate on team selection.

He told Sri Lanka's official website: "There is no reason to panic and all we have to do is raise our performance levels and have confidence in each other.

"We've done so well over the years and we know each other's abilities. That trust works well going into a game."

He added: "Looking to the final Test, I don't think the P Saravanamuttu Stadium is going to be different from any other venue.

"It will be a good track, great to bat on, with a lot of turn on days four and five. It offers bowlers something if you really bend your back."