Sachin Tendulkar and four other victorious Indian teammates returned to Mumbai in the wee hours on Thursday and thanked the countrymen, saying the entire nation supported the team in its quest to create history in New Zealand.

"It's an achievement. Everyone is happy. The entire country has supported us. It was victory after 41 years," the champion batsman told reporters at the Sahar airport on arriving with four other teammates.

Under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, India defeated New Zealand in their own backyard in a Test series for the first time since Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi's team had vanquished the Kiwis in 1967-68 after hopping across the Tasman sea after a poor series in Australia.

Tendulkar, who had made vital contributions with the bat in both the preceding five-match one-day series and the Test rubber, returned with Zaheer Khan, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel and Dhawal Kulkarni.

Some members of the support staff of the team also landed in Mumbai along with them.

Skipper Dhoni and some other members of the team, based in northern cities, disembarked in Delhi by a different flight.

South-based cricketers, including stalwarts Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, went to their respective places directly, according to Cricket Board sources.