Apart from its military advantage, Mysore was also an extremely wealthy nation.
Thanks to trade with England, Mysore's cotton, tea, spices, indigo, and sugar were exported in large quantities, bringing a vast amount of wealth to the nobles, providing ample material assurance for national warfare.
Using a phrase from future generations, Lafayette had never fought such a wealthy war before.
Of course, his opponents were even stronger—England, currently the most powerful country in the world, need not be mentioned. The East India Company had more than 3,000 regular troops in India and could mobilize around 6,000 when necessary. If reinforcements were called from England, they could have a force of 10,000 within three to four months.