At the end of it, Rahul Dravid's post-match conference sounded more like a thank you speech at the Oscars.

He mentioned and thanked everybody, the coach, the support staff, the masseur and the players right down to Venugopal Rao, who didn't play a single game during the South Africa series but was in the squad during the Sri Lanka series.

"Winning eight out of (last) eleven games is a tribute to the side," said Dravid, after India beat South Africa by five wickets to level the series 2-2. "It's not easy when you are playing two back-to-back series; it's been a long road but the boys have responded beautifully."

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Dravid, with his right elbow in a brace, calmed down fears about the injury, which he picked up during the Mumbai game. "It's just a bruise; will be fine."

Not surprisingly, the Indian captain was in a particularly chirpy mood. The crease on his forehead was gone as he praised his players and the way they had reacted to the "experimentation" in the squad.

"I don't think it's just about experimenting. There is a lot of thought that has gone into the strategies; it's not that we are doing it for the sake of it.

"It's about giving people different challenges. We are not scared of making mistakes, because if we are we cannot go ahead. We have to learn from these experiences if we want to go on to another level. It's been a tough journey for us and winning has helped."

Though Dravid was in a generous mood, he struck a note of caution, saying that he was not still hundred percent satisfied with the team's performance.

"We have played well but by no means am I saying that this is the best we can be. These victories have given us hope, they have given us confidence but we are not getting too excited about it.

"I think we have taken a step forward after starting on a low before Nagpur but there are a lot of steps to go."

Man of the series Yuvraj Singh was also present for the media session though he spent most of the time listening to his captain talk passionately about the team. And when it was his turn, the left-hander spoke briefly about the turnaround he had made since the 79 against Sri Lanka at Rajkot.

"You can't have good results all the time. I didn't do very well against Sri Lanka but I did well here. Winning the man of the series is a very happy moment for me. It's the first time I've won it after playing all these years for India."

Dravid congratulated Yuvraj for his performance and said that he and Mohammed Kaif had played a big role in India's outstanding fielding in the two series.

"Guys like Yuvraj and Kaif always inspire you to field better," he said.

Then came the biggest stakeholders of Indian cricket: the fans. Dravid also thanked them for supporting the team so graciously.

"It's been great to see how they have responded and backed our young side. Wherever we have toured we have been received with great enthusiasm. They are the best cricket fans in the world, the most demanding fans, and deserve a good team."