After steering West Zone to victory in the Duleep Trophy final, Yusuf Pathan talked to espnstar.com. Excerpts from the interview.

Q: You have led West Zone to a historical win against South Zone - how do you feel now?

Yusuf Pathan: It certainly feels great. I am delighted to be a part of this winning team. I am personally happy to have had the lion's share in this historic victory. But it has been a great team effort too. All the boys have contributed and they deserve equal credit.

Q: Apart from you, who in the team do you think contributed largely?

YP: As I said it is a team effort. Irfan (Pathan) in the first innings and Dhawal (Kulkarni) in the second innings bowled fantastically. And chasing 500 plus in any format is never easy.

Our hard work eventually paid us the dividends. The openers gave us a good start in the second innings and then Wasim Jaffer chipped in and I had great support from my brother Irfan, Pinal Shah and Romesh Powar in the end.

Q: You batted under pressure in both the innings and on Saturday you still needed to score more than 150 - what was your game plan - what was going through your mind. Did you sleep well yesterday?

YP: I slept really well. We knew that we had a great chance to make history. In both the innings I did not feel the pressure. I always bat freely. Losing Irfan's wicket a few minutes before the close on Friday caused us a lot of concern. But Pinal and Powar lent me great support today (Saturday).

We rotated the strike well, not leaving any opportunity to miss the singles.

It was not easy to bat on the final day. Luck too favoured us as I got a couple of reprieves. I just enjoyed that - at the end of the day we won.

Q: You pulled your muscle this morning. How difficult was it for you to bat before lunch?

YP: Well, I was in excruciating pain. I knew I had to carry on. Since I was well set, I was able to hit boundaries and sixes.

As I said, luck was on my side today. Whenever I was dropped I just cursed myself. I needed support at the other end and I got it from Pinal before lunch and Powar after the break. We just decided to attack and we managed to chase down a huge target.

Q: Now your eyes must be on the coming ODI series against South Africa. How will this performance help you?

YP: We have the Ranji one-dayers and the Deodhar Trophy to look forward to before that.

When you perform to expectations, it always feels great and boosts your confidence. I just try to give my 100 per cent every time and leave the rest to God. I don't keep anything in my mind. I hope I can continue this form in all the future matches.

Q: Surely, you have set yourself some targets for the IPL and the ICC World Twenty20.

YP: I think it is still a long way to go. Before that, I should carry on with this performance in the Deodhar Trophy and win it for our zone.

Twenty20 in the West Indies is certainly going to be very big for everyone. I hope India can win this time in the West Indies.

Q: How does it feel when you and your brother Irfan Pathan are at the wicket - hammering the bowlers around?

YP: It feels really great. We both enjoy supporting each other in the middle and both of us want to live up to the expectations of the crowd and the management. I learn a lot from Irfan. He is a cool customer and a great motivator.

Q: Finally how did the wicket play and how was the crowd support?

YP: Thank God, we had some crowd watching this game at the end. They were very supportive and we were all looked after very well. The wicket played beautifully. There was also something for the bowlers at every phase. Thanks to the curator for preparing such a wonderful wicket.