Team India focus on Tests number one rank, says Rahane

Indian vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane has said that the team will be going out to dominate in the fourth Test against West Indies starting here on Thursday and remains focused on its long-term goal of becoming the number one side in the longest format.

The visitors won the first and third Tests in Antigua and St.Lucia to seal the four-match series while the second Test in Jamaica was drawn.

“Mood has been fantastic in the dressing room. Our goal is to play attacking cricket and dominate West Indies here. We have been playing good cricket and it is important to finish well on this tour,” said Rahane today.

“3-0 will be very good and our long-term goal is to be the no.1 Test team. But it is important to stay in the present moment. As Virat Kohli said earlier, we want to express ourselves in the middle. That means we want to dominate here again like we did in the first three Tests.

“We have dominated every single day in this series and dominated every single Test so far. So it is important to be in that process regularly and think about achieving that no.1 Test status as a team,” he said, about the possibility of India going top in the rankings should they win at the Queen's Park Oval.

Rahane was among the batsmen who were shifted in the batting order, as Rohit Sharma was included in the playing eleven for the third Test.

“It is not too different. It I how you adjust and how you assess the conditions at a particular spot. For me, if I am batting at four or fiver, it is important to read the conditions really well and play according to that rather than thinking about anything else. So number doesn't matter for me, and wherever the team management asks me to bat, I am always ready for that,” he said.