RANCHI, FEB 24: Englands Joe Root was roundly praised Friday after becoming the first batsman to make 10 Test centuries against India after departing from his teams attacking strategy and back to more conservative cricket.
Root made an unbeaten 106 as he lifted England from a precarious 112-5 to 302-7 at stumps after they elected to bat first in the fourth Test in Ranchi.
The former captain returned to form after managing just 77 runs in his previous six innings and weathering criticism for his dismissal off a misjudged reverse scoop in Englands loss in the third Test.
Root put on 113 runs for the sixth wicket with wicketkeeper-batsman Ben Foakes (47) as the two remained uncharacteristically patient, a step away from Englands attacking "Bazball" style.
"A really good day for England and a masterful hundred from Englands best player in Joe Root," former captain Michael Vaughan told TNT Sports.
"This was the day England played the situation perfectly."
Fellow ex-captain Nasser Hussain said on Sky Sports that Roots innings was "an absolute pleasure to watch".
"You don keep a great player down and Joe Root is definitely a great player, arguably one of Englands greatest if not Englands greatest-ever batter," he said.
"I saw a steely toughness in his eye today, whether he was stung by the criticism he received for some of the shots he has played or whether its actually Joe himself wanted to contribute more."
Root came out at the fall of Ollie Popes wicket for a duck and witnessed Zak Crawley get bowled on 42 before he got down to the grind with Jonny Bairstow, another batsman to struggle this series.
England soon lost Bairstow for 38 and then skipper Ben Stokes at the stroke of lunch but Root remained determined in his 226-ball stay, which witnessed just one reverse sweep off Ravichandran Ashwin.
"This is the Joe Root mode that win you Test matches!" South African great AB de Villiers wrote on X, formerly Twitter. —AFP
