England opener Zak Crawley was in awe of Joe Root after the former England captain scored his first hundred of 2024 in the fourth Test match against hosts India on Friday (Feb 23). Root, criticised for a poor run of form in the opening three matches of the series scored a superb ton against hosts India to lead England’s charge. After the stumps on Day 1, Root’s teammate Crawley underlined his importance and why he is the best player in the team.

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Crawley in awe of Root

“We’re chuffed for him, to be honest,” Crawley said at the close of play. “We never doubted Joe, we just think if he gets a 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.

“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,” Crawley added.

ALSO READ | IND vs ENG: England opener Zak Crawley all praise for debutant pacer Akash Deep after Day 1 of Ranchi Test

Before the start of the Ranchi Test, Root had scored only 89 runs in six innings, averaging only 14 with former players criticising his poor form with the bat. However, those critics were answered on Friday, as the batter scored his record 10th hundred against India, the most by any player in the red-ball format.

England, currently trailing 1-2 in the five-match Test series closed the Day 1 of the Ranchi Test at 302/7 with Root unbeaten on 106. Root’s ton was the highlight of the final session before Indian pacers had hit the ground with debutant Akash Deep Singh scalping three wickets.

Earlier, in the first session of Day 1 Akash Deep was the difference-maker with the new as the hosts were on top after reducing England to 57/3. Akash Deep hit the ground running in the red-ball format and looked dangerous as he troubled the opposition batters. Zak Crawley departed for 42 while Ben Duckett (11) and Ollie Pope (0) were also not in great touch.

Mohammed Siraj (60/2) was also among the wicket-takers while Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin also scalped one wicket each.

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