•Given the hype ahead of the New Zealand tour, the 41-year jinx was broken rather easily...

• Actually, it was tough. Irrespective of what the results suggest, it wasn’t a cakewalk. At first, we thought it would be easy, but we lost both T20 games. We came together and told ourselves that we need to really put everything into this tour and get the right results. We all put out best efforts into it and in the process, perhaps we made it look simple.

•After so much success at the top of the order, do you still feel you are an opener by chance?

• You can’t change that fact, can you? I was a middle-order batsman who was asked to open and luckily for me, things went really well. In fact, till date, as an opener I am just doing a job given to me by the team management. Given a choice, I would happily slide down and play in the middle-order because that’s where I belong. But right now, I have a job entrusted to me and I love the responsibility, so no regrets at all.

•Is it true that you wanted the team management to switch you back to the middle-order when the runs had dried up?

• Yes... I wasn’t getting many runs and I had asked if I could bat in the middle-order. I thought I would be able to contribute better but the team management vetoed it. They said I have done well as an opener, and that it was my role in the team. They were willing to back me and I was ready all over again. Everything worked out really well.

•How do you and Gambhir motivate each other in the middle?

• Gauti and I place these friendly bets and compete with each other all the time. I believe that a sense of competition always helps achieve your best and so we indulge in these little games. I really teased him when I outscored him in the one-day series and he told me he would get back at me. After the Test series, he’s teasing me about how many more runs he scored than me. We have these little bets going all the time.

•Would you say this is the best phase of your career?

• Definitely, not just because I am getting big runs but because these runs have really translated into victories for the team. There are several factors surrounding these statistics — the dressing room atmosphere, the team mates, coach, captain — it’s everything you could dream of.

•This has been hectic season — a long New Zealand tour, a week at home to rest and another month-and-a-half away in South Africa. Have you started thinking about the IPL?

• I have decided to think about the IPL only when I reach South Africa. I am taking a short break now and want to spend time with my family. Obviously, I will have a tough job on hand to decide on which four foreign players to play because I have options to choose from. It (team combination) really depends on the conditions, if I want three international bowlers or not. Then the coach, players and I can sit together and decide on the final XI.

•Sehwag, Gambhir and Warner—have you considered the repercussions of this line-up on the bowlers in IPL?

• (Laughs) Yes, it should be formidable. I have heard he’s a very hard hitter and saw that innings in a T20 match against South Africa at the MCG. I hope to see him in person and it will be exciting to bat together.