KL Rahul: My intention to stay positive and aggressive paid off

Kingston Going through a purple patch centurion Lokesh Rahul said his intention to stay positive and aggressive on the second day paid off as he put India on the drivers seat in the second Test against West IndiesLokesh Rahul of India celebrates after reaching a century with a Six off West Indies bowler Miguel Cummins on day 2 of the 2nd Test between India and the West Indies in Kingston Jamaica PicAFPOpening the innings Rahul scored a composed 158 on day two to help India finish at 3585 a lead of 162 runs with still three days to go It was the highest individual score for Rahul who had notched up his maiden ODI hundred on debut in Zimbabwe This is his third Test ton overall and all three of them have come outside India Australia Sri Lanka and now in the CaribbeanEven so his place in the eleven is not confirmed yet as he was a replacement for the injured Murali Vijay That could change in the near future To me it didnt look too difficult I went in there and started hitting the ball from the first or second ballObviously Ive been spending a lot of time in the nets Its a different challenge once you go out there and when you have the pressure of the game Rahul said after the end of the second days playI tried to keep things simple Ive been in good form for the last 34 months Ive been moving well and hitting the ball really well My plan when I went out yesterday was to put the loose balls away and be positive and have a very aggressive intentI am really happy with the way I batted I dont know whether it is easy or tough but the simplest things if you do it right it pays off all the time That is to play to the merit of the ball you think the ball is there to be hit and you feel confident then you hit the ball I tried to keep it simple he addedThe 24yearold from Karnataka said he is enjoying his consistent run in all three formats of the game The last couple of months Ive been performing well Ive been consistent in all the three formats and thats what I want to do as a cricketer said RahulIm only watching the ball and trying to judge the ball and if I think the ball is there to be hit Im hitting the ball Im very happy with the space Im in and the focus levels have been greatThe biggest challenge was obviously the weather it was a very hot day When I went into bat yesterday the wicket was still a little twopaced and a little damp and the ball was doing a little bitThose were the challenges but once I got a few runs under my belt and once I spent a little time on the wicket I felt comfortable To have Virat Kohli R Ashwin and the other guys speak highly of me definitely gives confidenceRahul batted for much of the second day and put on two solid partnerships first with Cheteshwar Pujara and then with skipper Virat Kohli Pujara batted slowly in the morning session and then was runout for 46 In the last session of play West Indies struck thrice as the new ball did some damage on the rugged pitchI think he batted really well He had some good leaves outside the offstump And you probably have to give a little credit to the West Indies bowlers as well They came in with a set plan this morning to keep it tight and not give away easy runs They tried to bowl the fourthfifth stump Rahul saidThe wicket obviously isnt the easiest to bat on It is a little spongy sometimes and twopaced So you couldnt play through the line or go after the bowlers when they bowled those channelsTalking about the West Indies bowling which was very disciplined and didnt give free runs Rahul said Shannon Gabriel was challenging in every spell We obviously know that he is one of their strike bowlersOur plan with him was to see him through and give the ball the respect it demanded and put the bad balls away We were in no hurry so we could take out time and wait for the loose balls At the end of the day we have still gotten the amount of runs we wanted to get We are very happy as a batting unitIndia now lead by 162 runs with Ajinkya Rahane 42 and Wriddhiman Saha 17 at the crease Thunderstorms are predicted for the third day but the visitors will be looking to force the issue and bat for as long as possibleIts a Test match and you have all the time in the world We have bundled them out for 180 196 and we still had four days to go We were in no hurry Rahul saidOn this wicket since yesterday it has been doing a little bit with the new ball I think they bowled really well from the first ball this morning and they kept the pressure on us and didnt give easy runsThey got a couple of wickets in the last session All in all were happy and there are no complaints at the end of the day he signed off