"He's our best player": England opener Zak Crawley showers praise on Joe Root
Feb 23, 2024
Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], February 23 : Batter Zak Crawley hailed Joe Root and called him England's best player following his record-breaking ton on Day 1 of the fourth Test against India in Ranchi.
Root with his unbeaten 106* brought England back into the game after debutant pacer Akash Deep provided India with a dream start.
His knock was a mix of patience and composure as he picked his moments to find the fence and kept the scoreboard ticking. He completed his 31st Test ton and showed a gesture towards the dugout with skipper Ben Stokes showcasing the same gesture towards the 33-year-old.
"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 the conditions were tricky, Root held on to his nerves and along with Ben Foakes he ensured that England went wicketless in the second session for the first time in the series.
Both batters stitched up a 114-run partnership and drove England towards a competitive score after they were reduced to 112/5.
"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.
Coming to the day's action, at stumps, England posted a score of 302/7 with Root and Ollie Robinson unbeaten with scores of 106(226) and 31(60) respectively.
Root and Robinson stitched up an unbeaten 57-run stand which allowed England to amass runs at a healthy run rate. Their unbeaten partnership ensured England went past the 300-run mark and finished the day on a dominant note.
