diff --git a/t/t5515-fetch-merge-logic.sh b/t/t5515-fetch-merge-logic.sh
index dbb927dec8..36b0dbc01c 100755
--- a/t/t5515-fetch-merge-logic.sh
+++ b/t/t5515-fetch-merge-logic.sh
@@ -128,8 +128,8 @@ do
 	case "$cmd" in
 	'' | '#'*) continue ;;
 	esac
-	test=`echo "$cmd" | sed -e 's|[/ ][/ ]*|_|g'`
-	pfx=`printf "%04d" $test_count`
+	test=$(echo "$cmd" | sed -e 's|[/ ][/ ]*|_|g')
+	pfx=$(printf "%04d" $test_count)
 	expect_f="$TEST_DIRECTORY/t5515/fetch.$test"
 	actual_f="$pfx-fetch.$test"
 	expect_r="$TEST_DIRECTORY/t5515/refs.$test"