Rediff

Jul 2: Heaving a huge sigh of relief after India finally recovered from the World Cup debacle to pocket a rare overseas series, victorious captain Rahul Dravid [Images] said his side deserves the win.

"After the World Cup disappointment, we needed to regroup and get our confidence back. We have worked hard as a team and deserve all the success that comes our way," Dravid said in Belfast on Sunday after India beat South Africa by six wickets in the third and final one dayer to win the series.

"The preparation for the tour was not ideal but I'm really happy the way the boys put up their hands up and performed. They did not knuckle down under any pressure and played well," Dravid said.

It was a commendable show by the Indian team, which was laid low by a cold bug and struggled to put together 11 fit men for the series.

Sachin Tendulkar was adjudged Man of the Series, while Yuvraj Singh, architect of today's win, received the Man of the Series award for his unbeaten match-winning knock of 61.

"Sachin played brilliantly in the series and Yuvraj played so well. The bowlers did a great job today and it was a great team effort," Dravid said.

Yuvraj too was relieved that the World Cup disaster is now a thing of the past.

"After the World Cup debacle, the boys took a lot of beating. We needed to prove that we are not so bad as a team. I am very happy that we have won this series," he said.

Meanwhile, in a warm gesture, Tendulkar decided to share his Man of the Series award with Yuvraj.

"It is only because of Yuvraj that we are holding this trophy," Tendulkar said.

Asked about the vintage Tendulkar on show during the series, the Mumbaikar said, "It was a pretty good series. I played some big shots in the second match. In the first game also I played as the situation demanded. I was striking the ball well."

On the bigger challenges ahead, he said, "The England series will be a tough tour. We have got a wonderful start with this series win and the conditions here will also help us in the England tour."

South African captain Jacques Kallis rued dropped catches but also derived some positives from the defeat.

"India bowled well with the new ball. Unfortunately, we put down some chances in the field. It was disappointing but we are playing after a long time and I'm happy that some of  the youngsters have performed well under pressure," he said.