The Sri Lankan players would like to put this year's tour of India out of their minds as soon as possible after being at the receiving end for most of it.
First it was the 6-1 rout in the one-day international series; then came the loss in the second Test at Delhi after having the upper hand. Now, the Indian weather has taken its toll on them.
"A number of our players are suffering from various illness, some with a viral stomach bug and a few are down with viral flu. But, hopefully, we will have a full strength squad to pick from for tomorrow's match," Sri Lanka's coach Tom Moody said in Ahmedabad on Saturday.
Pacers Dilhara Fernando and Chaminda Vaas did not take part in Saturday's practice session, being laid low with fever.
"Fernando and Vaas have been rested at the hotel. They have got fever, a bit of temperature, but fever generally takes 24 hours to pass. They are not yet 100 percent, but we are hopeful that with a bit of rest, they will be fine for tomorrow's match," Moody added.
Off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who had a slight thigh strain, was declared fit for the match; so was captain Marvan Atapattu, who was a victim of the viral flu a few days earlier.
Mahela Jayawardene, who has shown great form, scoring three consecutive half-centuries in as many innings in the series, said he would need to start again in the final Test.
"Delhi is finished now. I will have to start again in Ahmedabad," the right-hander said.
Jayawardene also had a word of praise for veteran Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble, who will become only the fifth Indian to play 100 Tests, after Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar and Dilip Vengsarkar.
"Kumble has taken close to 500 Test wickets and is no doubt a great bowler. He has been a great campaigner for so long. I think he is the best Indian bowler right now."
He said though the team would miss Sanath Jayasuriya, there is enough talent in their side.
"Obviously, we are missing Sanath, who has played around 100 Test matches, but we can't dwell on that. We have a talented squad here and hope to perform well," he said.
Moody lamented that a mad spell of 60 minutes cost Sri Lanka the Kotla Test.
Sri Lanka were cruising at 175 for 2 in their first innings, in reply to India's score of 290 all out, before collapsing for 230 and handing India the initiative.
"Even though India won by a big margin of 188 runs, the match was closely fought. A mad spell of 60 minutes cost Sri Lanka the match. We have reviewed our mistakes and hope not to repeat it," Moody said.
"The wicket was difficult for the first 20 minutes for the batsmen, but once a batsman got established, run-scoring was easy."
The Australian said it is not nice to go into a Test with a side having a few players down with illness, but expressed confidence of some of those on the sick list recovering and performing well.
"We have seen in the past that players who are slightly ill or injured have come up with many fine performances."
He said the Sri Lankans are all geared for the challenge of registering their first Test victory on Indian soil.
"We are here to level the series and try and win a Test for the first time in India and we will try to work hard on that in the next five days," he declared.
Sri Lanka have played 13 Tests in India, without scoring a single victory. Ahmedabad's cricket fans are hoping that victory continues to elude them in this Test too.
