Chennai, Dec 10: Team India captain Gautam Gambhir on Friday credited his bowlers for setting the tone of the match and helping the home side seal the series 5-0 against New Zealand. Gambhir, who led India in the absence of regular captain MS Dhoni, said that it was a collective team effort and the boys were excited to play for the country.

Excerpts:

On the 5-0 sweep

I think it was absolutely professional and as I said at the toss that it is an international game and we were up to it. The way the bowlers bowled I think it was fantastic to see them performing even in the fifth one when we had sealed the series 4-0. I think a lot of credit goes to the entire bunch of boys. I think they were pretty professional. I am really looking forward for the next series and was very excited to play for the country.

On the track

I never expected that it is going to turn that much in the first innings. I always thought that it will turn and bounce in the second innings for sure. But the way it started turning in the very first over, I knew that the spinners would do the job. I think all the spinners- Ashwin [Ravichandran], Yuvi [Yuvraj Singh] and Yusuf [Pathan] did a fantastic job. I think a lot of credit goes to the fast bowlers as well. They took the first three of the top-order. PK [Praveen Kumar] and Ashish [Nehra]- I think it was a brilliant effort by the bowlers.

On his young team and the ODI series

Everyone was excited to play for the country. It is a young side. Everyone wanted to play and contribute. I think if you see everyone chipped in – the bowlers got the wickets and the batsmen scored big runs. There were some fantastic innings in the series and I think it was a complete overall effort. The credit goes to the entire bunch of boys.

On being confident about his young team

I was confident that we have the talent in the dressing room to finish the series 5-0.

On the upcoming South African tour

It is a great challenge. I have never been to South Africa. I think it is the first Test series in South Africa. I am really excited about that and hopefully I can carry the same momentum in South Africa. It is going to be a different ball game. Hopefully, we will be able to deliver it for the country.