Former England captain Nasser Hussain applauded Joe Root for his stunning hundred on Day 1 of the 4th Test against India in Ranchi on Friday, February 23. Hussain said that he saw a completely different Root in the ongoing Test from the one he had a decade ago. However, Root rescued England out of trouble as he scored a record 31st Test hundred in Ranchi as well. Walking in at 47-2 and with England soon finding themselves at 112-5, he bed in to take England to 302-7 in 90 overs as well.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Hussain said: “You don’t keep a great player down for long and Joe Root is definitely a great player – arguably one of England’s greatest, if not their greatest ever batter. The stats will tell you that by the end of his career.”The Root we’ve seen over the last decade or so has had that sort of boyish smile on his face. I saw a slightly different Joe today and a steely toughness in his eye.”

READ MORE: “I want to play cricket for as long as I can” – Nathan Lyon

The veteran added that Joe Root has always been his biggest critic, prompting him to do well. However, he reached the three-figure mark in the 84th over of the day with a drive through the covers off Akash Deep’s bowling as well and his celebrations were subdued.

He again shared, “Whether that was because he was stung by the criticism he’s received for some for the shots he’s played, or whether it’s actually Root himself wanting to contribute more after a bit of a lean patch. And he is his biggest critic. He is constantly trying to self-improve and look at his own game. He was absolutely outstanding today, on a difficult pitch he got his tempo perfect.”

“In a month’s time or next summer, he’ll go back to playing all the funky shots because that’s what he has. He has every single shot in the book and sometimes it is difficult when you’re that talented to keep certain shots away. Joe is one of the best sweepers of a cricket ball I’ve ever seen. He played one reverse sweep and two sweeps today, because of the pitch,” Nasser Hussain concluded.