Strauss, who struggled in the Ashes, at the World Cup and against West Indies, made 96 in England's 268-4 on day one.

"After what's gone on in the last six months or so it was an important innings for me," he told BBC Sport.

"You have to feel responsible for changing your luck, do the right things and get in the right frame of mind. Coming into this I felt really good."

Strauss saw Dinesh Karthik drop a straightforward chance at point when he was on 43.

"It was an extraordinary bit of fortune, I must admit. It was a pretty average shot and I was cursing myself for playing it thinking it was definitely going to get caught but fortunately he put it down," the left-hander explained.

"Luck evens itself out. I've had a tough time and that was a major slice in my favour."

After Strauss was out, India struck two more late blows to salvage a day on which their bowlers had struggled to cope with the Lord's slope.

But the Middlesex star insists the hosts are in a "decent position".

"I had to knuckle down - it was a quicker wicket than a lot of Lord's wickets in the past and we had to get stuck in," he added.

"The Indians came back at us pretty well and losing Vaughany and Paul put them back into the game a little bit but we still have a lot of batting to come and hopefully we can push on.

"Our bowlers, Chris Tremlett and James Anderson in particular, will be keen to prove a point.

"Hopefully we can get some momentum, take a couple of early wickets, and put India under pressure."