Gambhir wants to be more consistent

Gautam Gambhir believes improving on his consistency will help him cement his place in the Indian cricket team.

"At this level it's all about being consistent and that's what I was lacking in the past and it's very important for me," said the Delhi batsman who cracked an unbeaten 80 to guide India to a 9-wicket win against Ireland on Saturday.

The left-hander shared an unbroken century partnership with Sourav Ganguly who made a solid 75 not out as India comfortably overhauled Ireland's revised target of 171.

"It will be a long tour so it's important to start off well. It's nice to start well and I'm pleased I got the runs," said Gambhir who was also named man of the match.

After being left out of the World Cup squad, Gambhir heralded his comeback on the tour of Bangladesh scoring 21 and 101 in the two one-dayers.

His pleasing knock against Ireland comes as a reassurance of his desire to get runs consistently.

Gambhir said his visit to England with the India 'A' team helped him adapt to the conditions quickly. "It's not like in India where you can just go out there and play through the line of the ball," he said.

"Sometimes you have to be a bit more patient and work the ball into the gaps in these conditions.

"I toured England with India 'A', so I know something about batting on these types of tracks."

Meanwhile, India's fielding coach Robin Singh stressed that the players were putting in a lot of effort to improve their fielding.

"We did a lot of work in Bangalore on the fitness. The fitter the guys, the better they will field," he said.

"These conditions were pretty cold but we fielded well in patches. Some didn't do so well, but overall some very good catches were taken.

"We have ensured we have worked on the fielding because it's a crucial area in one-day cricket.

"I think you'll see an improvement especially with the younger guys in the side.

"As long as the senior guys keep themselves fit they know what to do, but the emphasis is on the younger guys."