Rohit gets chance to cement Test place

VISAKHAPATNAM, India: One-Day big hitter Rohit Sharma will stake a claim to become India’s first-choice opening Test batsman when they start a series against South Africa tomorrow (Wednesday) looking for a record-breaking win.

Victory in the three-match series would see India break the record of 10 straight home series wins they currently hold with Australia.Much focus in the first Test in Visakhapatnam will be on the 32-year-old Sharma — a star of India’s limited-overs teams as well as skipper of the Mumbai Indians who won this year’s Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament.

Sharma has not been a Test regular, however. The last of his 27 Test caps since 2013 was in Australia last year.He now has a new chance, replacing the out-of-form Lokesh Rahul, as the opening positions remain a problem for India.

“He has worked so hard and if he gets an opportunity, I am sure he will do well,” vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane said of Sharma.“We all know the quality he has. He is simply special.”

The new Sharma experiment has had a disastrous start, however — he was dismissed for a duck on the second ball he faced in a practice game against the South Africans. India batting great V.V.S. Laxman said Sharma needs to stick to his natural flair while opening in the longer format.

“If you tweak your natural game too much, then you will not get the results as your mind gets cluttered and you tend to lose your rhythm,” said Laxman, a middle-order batsman who was forced to open for India.“I can admit that my flow was affected when I opened. Rohit is a rhythm-based player and if his touch gets affected, then it will be difficult.”