Even when Joe Root wasn’t getting runs, there was hardly any doubt on his credentials as one of the best batsmen in the world. Cut to the fourth IND vs ENG Test in Ranchi, the former England skipper slammed his 31st Test ton, and gave a befitting reply to his critics.
But for opener Zak Crawley, Root is the best batsman, as far as England is concerned. Root, meanwhile, showed immense patience to bring up his ton in over 200 balls. “We’re chuffed for him, to be honest. We never doubted Joe, we just think if he gets couple of lowies, he’s even more due than before, so we fully expected him to go out and get runs in this game.
“He deserves everything he gets, he works so hard at his game and he always comes good,” Crawley said as quoted from ESPNcricinfo. When England were reeling at 112/5, Root added 112 runs along with Ben Foakes.
“He’s probably the only bloke in our team who could have done that knock; he’s that good, he’s our best player and he’s stepped up when we needed him to. We needed him to get a score, and he got a score like he’s done for so many years now. He’s just a phenomenal player, one of the best – if not the best – player we’ve ever had for England,” Crawley added.