Hamilton, March 21: Having scripted a win in his first Test abroad as captain to add to his impressive record at home, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is overjoyed. "Time for retirement it seems," he joked after the match when asked about the dream run.

On a more serious note, the Indian captain said: "One of the first milestones we have achieved is to take the lead, now it’s important to play the same kind of cricket in the second and third game. Let’s hope we win the series and that will be the best gift we can give to Sachin, Rahul."

Referring to the senior players, Dhoni said, "It’s a great feeling especially for guys whose careers have spanned more than 10 years, they have played at most of the venues all over the world, and if it’s the first win for them it can’t get better." Excerpts:

On the team: We played consistent cricket over a period of time. As I said before the start of the game, Test cricket is about winning session after session, it’s not about winning just one day’s play or winning a few sessions. When it comes to bowling or batting, we were right there.

On the success: I think I have always said I have got a great team more than anything else. Each individual is doing his job. We enjoy each other’s success, we help each other a lot when it comes to cricket, on and off the field. We create an environment where every individual feels comfortable. We have played consistent cricket over a period of time, and that’s what is helping the side. We have a good mixture of experienced guys and youngsters who want to perform and are talented. Each and every thing we do on and off the field, we take pride in that. If we continue to that, plenty of good things will happen to us.

On rating the win: I don’t believe in comparisons but it’s very special. I have not been to New Zealand before, and to win the first Test I have played feels good. It will also be special because of a couple of players — Sachin getting a big hundred, Harbhajan getting five wickets, his first five-for against NZ. We were just talking about it last night. He wanted to get it. I am glad he got it the very next day.

On Tendulkar: Of course it is great to play with Sachin Tendulkar, and if he contributes to win, that is more important for us. Definitely the way he played it was a pleasure to see him bat. Whenever he scores those big hundreds, you can’t see anything better. The way he paced his innings, there was a phase when the New Zealand bowlers were bowling well. He didn’t take too many risks at that time but later on he captialised. Once he was over that 80-run mark he was getting boundaries at will. Everybody contributed, three batsmen got fifties. It was important for us, if we wanted to win we needed a big lead.