London: Indian captain Saurav Ganguly hit out at the scheduling of the One-day triangular series, which meant his side had little time to prepare for Saturday's final against England at Lord's.

On Friday, the Indians travelled to London from Bristol, having completed their victory over Sri Lanka late on Thursday night. England, meanwhile, rested since Tuesday's dress rehearsal win over India at the Oval.

The itinerary has already come under attack from Sri Lanka coach Dav Whatmore, who was incensed that both touring sides were asked to play back-to-back matches while England avoided doing so.

"It is hard when you play a day-nighter and wake up the next day and get on the road, then play again the next day in a final," added Ganguly. "I don't know whether our Board got the itinerary before we came here. But I think One-day games need to be well spaced out as they can be tiring."

He added, "We knew we had to do it - now the important thing is to get your mind over it and get along."

Copyright AFP 2001

Extras:
Indians upbeat as Tendulkar is 'totally fit' for final