"I regard this as one of my most special knocks ever. I am the seventh guy (from South Africa) to do it. It's not really a personal goal to get 200, I am happy winning the game for my country," de Villiers said on Friday.
The right-hander said it was a challenge to prove himself in sub-continental conditions. "I enjoyed myself after getting 150. It's a challenge proving yourself in the sub-continent that you can play the spinners well," he said.
"Sreesanth bowled pretty well. Luckily, we got through that and it paid off. It becomes easier in the afternoon and I enjoyed every second today," he added.
There was a lot of talk about the pitch preparation in the last few days. De Villiers rated the pitch as a good Test wicket. "It's a good Test wicket. It's pleasing to see such wickets in the sub-continent.
“I think it set up a pretty good Test match. That's how it should be. There was something for bowlers on the first morning, and it sort of flattened out after that. But there is still something in it for the bowlers," he noted.
On his 256-run partnership with Jacques Kallis, he said, "He has a calming influence on me, especially when I was in the 90s. He gave me a lot of tips. I usually hold my bat up, but now I am tapping and it gets me a bit lower while facing. I worked on my sweep shot, and if I got bogged down at one end, used it to rotate the strike. Kallis really, really helped me a lot in playing spin bowling."
On his and Kallis' approach on the day, he said, "The plan was to bat as long as possible. I enjoy batting with him. We had all the time in the world. We took our time to get ourselves in. There was a little bit of juice in the morning session, so it was hard work for us."
The Protean said he was not thinking about getting a triple hundred. He hoped that the bowlers will now finish the job for South Africa by bundling India out for a second time in the match.
"We have to do the basics well. We have got very talented bowlers in our team. We have got a very good seam attack and Paul Harris can spin the ball from the rough."
