Manish Pandey aims at cementing his spot in Team India

Colombo, Sep 1: Indian middle-order batsman Manish Pandey made an impressive half-century on his return to the Indian side in the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka.

The young Karnataka batsman, who has been in and out from the side due to various reasons, now wants to consolidate his position in the side.

Men In Blue won the 4th ODI by a whopping 168-run-margin to take a 4-0 lead in the series and it was Pandey's 101-run stand with MS Dhoni that took the visitors to a mammoth 375/5 batting first.

"Middle order is where I bat. Starting from no.4 to no.6 I have batted at different positions for India. I have to be ready for whatever spot I get. So if I get a chance then I need to get some runs and cement that spot for myself first," Pandey said at the post-match press conference last night.

The 27-year-old felt that once he's managed to cement his position and performs well then, perhaps, he might be promoted up in the batting order.

"Then if you keep performing and you keep playing better, then maybe you come one up in the order. So that will be my goal to fix a spot or two for myself, stay there at the end and win games for India."

Pandey's unbeaten half-century knock came off 42 balls and was studded with four boundaries. Before getting India call-up, he led India A side to a one-day series win against South Africa A and Afghanistan A.

"Even batting through the India-A series, I batted very similar to the way I batted today (Thursday). So it was not too different for me to come back and think about it like it was my first game in a long time. I have been batting well in the nets and I just had to watch the ball and play," he added.

Pandey and Dhoni put on 101 runs for the sixth wicket, after a few hiccups in the middle order.

"The start was really important for us. I think we did well, given the fact that it was really hot. The guys were batting very well and were looking for boundaries.

Virat Kohli (131) and Rohit Sharma (104) laid the foundation for a huge total for the visitors after opting to bat first.

"The way Virat (Kohli) and Rohit (Sharma) batted, getting their hundreds, I thought it allowed us to come back in the middle overs (after the collapse) and look for boundaries. It was a little easier for us in the end," Pandey said.

"My mindset was to spend some time on the wicket first, like how many balls I should take initially. I need to take at least 6-10 balls to know what's the wicket like. It was spinning a bit when the middle-order got out but as I said there was a plan to spend some time and eventually it came off well for me. There were wickets falling on the other side but I had to keep my calm and rotate the strike," he added.

India lost their way after both Kohli and Sharma got out. They lost four wickets for 49 runs, but batting in his 300th ODI, Dhoni helped guide the finishing overs with Pandey. In the afternoon, Kohli had gifted Dhoni a platinum bat-memento to mark the occasion.

"To play 300 ODIs is a lot of experience. Like half the things you have probably learnt are by way of looking at the way Dhoni conducts himself. It is inspirational, especially for a guy like me who started my career under him, so it's always good to be there and learn from him," said Pandey.

"I have played a few games with him already. I know how he plays. I know how he likes to rotate the strike. I like to bat with somebody who loves to do that. Occasionally we get some fours and that's how we keep the scoreboard ticking. With Mahi bhai, you are always on your toes and he keeps giving you advice," he added.