Rohit hopes Lanka series will boost his Test claims

Rohit Sharma, the Indian batsman, is hoping a good performance in the upcoming ODI series in Sri Lanka will help him secure a spot in the Test side. A successful one-day series in Australia early in 2008 helped Rohit settle in the Indian middle-order and he said he had improved steadily since then.

"Though I did not play in the Test series in Sri Lanka [last July-August], I worked on my technique under Gary Kirsten's guidance," Rohit told the Times of India. "My footwork is much better now and even my shot selection has improved. My job is to perform. Hopefully, it should help me seal a Test spot."

Over the last year, when he played 28 of his 32 ODIs, Rohit scored three half-centuries - two in Australia - at 25.33. He put in an impressive performance in the Ranji Trophy, scoring two centuries in the final and aggregating 747 runs at 74.70 in the tournament that his team, Mumbai, won.

He was under-par in the five ODIs in Sri Lanka last year, with a top score of 32, but India won the series 3-2 and he said the pressure would now be on Sri Lanka. "India are a strong side now. We beat Australia and then England. On the other hand, Sri Lanka look patchy. I feel the pressure will be on them. We are confident of beating them in their own backyard once again."

Sri Lanka were beaten by Bangladesh in a league game of the tri-nation series and narrowly avoided another defeat to the same opposition in the final. They also lost the first ODI in Pakistan before bouncing back with a 129-run rout in the second.