Perth: Sourav Ganguly put up a brave front after India’s crushing defeat in their fourth and final round-robin league game against Australia in the tri-series on Sunday.

“The final is going to be a different ball game. Melbourne and Sydney are going to be more suited to our cricket and we are looking forward to it,” Sourav said after the five-wicket loss at the WACA ground here.

Electing to bat on a pitch with steep bounce, India were bowled out for 203. Adam Gilchrist, standing in for a rested Ricky Ponting, led the three-time world champions to a comfortable win with 18 overs to spare.

Sourav said playing in Perth, a pitch with more bounce and pace than any other strip in Australia, posed a considerable challenge to his batsmen.

“It was a hard task and any team from the subcontinent would find it difficult to adjust to the pace and bounce of the WACA,” he said. “It’s the fag end of the tour and we did not play on a similar pitch before. Our batsmen tried to adjust but we lost early wickets.”

Asked whether he thought of putting Australia in, Sourav’s reply was cryptic: “When I walked to the pitch I wanted to field, but then we batted.

“Had we put enough runs on the board, it would have been a different ball game,” he said.

Gilchrist was a happy man. Not only because he bagged the Man-of-the-Match award but also because he kept his undefeated record as captain.

The Western Australian, returning fresh after a week’s break, said he was happy with his team’s performance in what he termed “traditional” Australian conditions. “It was our bowlers who opened up the game for us today. This is a traditional Australian pitch with lot of bounce, something that we had not seen much this summer.

“We are 3-1 against India in the league stage but in the finals the team that gains the early initiative will have the opportunity to run away with the title.

“This Indian team had created a lot of headache for us throughout the summer. But as we showed today, if we can put the pressure on the top order by putting the ball in the right areas, we may have the advantage.”