Rahane found form with a 67-run knock on Day 1 of the second Test against England.
Rahane, who registered the scores of 1 and 0 in the opening Test, returned to form with a 67-run knock and added 162 runs for the fourth wicket with Rohit, who smashed 161, to take India to 300/6 at stumps on Day 1.
"We knew that it was going to turn from day one, obviously (it was) good to win the toss. Rohit said it was important to be positive on this wicket...I wanted to be positive, back myself on this wicket. The key was to use good footwork," Rahane said after the opening day's play.
"We had the strategy (on the sweep), we did discuss the game plan on this, and wanted to make them bowl to our strengths, good that the plans came off.
"I thought the first 20-30 balls were important. Then you get an idea on the pace and the bounce, you're never in on this wicket, so it was important to be positive," he added.
India lost Shubman Gill in the very second over for a duck but it didn’t affect Rohit as he batted with positive intent and played his natural game.
Rohit added 85 runs for the second wicket with Cheteshwar Pujara to bail India out of trouble. In the process, he completed his half-century off just 47 deliveries.
"The partnerships were vital — Rohit and Pujara got one, so did Rohit and myself," Rahane said.
At stumps, Rishabh Pant was batting on 33 and giving him company at the other end was debutant Akshar Patel on 5.
According to Rahane, anything above 350 in the first innings on this track will be a challenging task for the opposition batsmen.
"Another 50-60 runs from here will be good, Rishabh is still there, another partnership or two will be good," he said.
(With PTI inputs)