"Joe Roooooooot"- Sourav Ganguly declares Root "an all time great" after match-winning ton in ENG vs NZ 1st Test

Former Indian captain and BCCI President Sourav Ganguly has hailed former England skipper Joe Root for bagging his 26th Test hundred and winning the game against New Zealand at Lord's.

With the century, Root also became just the 14th player to score 10,000 runs in Test cricket. England needed 277 runs to win and were under severe pressure for most of their innings.

However, scoring his first hundred in the fourth innings of a Test, Joe Root ensured that his unbeaten 115* took England over the line and gave them a crucial 1-0 lead in the series.

Sourav Ganguly took to Twitter to congratulate Joe Root for an incredible innings under pressure. Here's what he tweeted:

"Joe Roooooooot ..what a player what a knock under pressure ..an all time great ..@bcci @icc"

Let's keep this format the pinnacle: Sourav Ganguly to BCCI & ICC

There has been a lot of talk of late about how Test cricket could suffer in the coming years with the increasing craze among T20 leagues around the world.

There were even reports that the longest format of the game could be drastically reduced with a number of ICC events taking place until 2027.

However, Sourav Ganguly urged the ICC and BCCI through his Twitter handle to ensure that Test cricket remains of utmost importance.

The 49-year-old believes the level of thrill that Test cricket gives is unmatchable and the game between England and New Zealand is a great example of the same. Here's what Ganguly tweeted:

"Whatever format u see..whatever the colour of the jersey u wear ..none beats such a game of test cricket ..no comparison@bcci @ICC..let's keep this format the pinnacle .."

England will be buoyed by an incredible victory as the new era under skipper Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum has begun in fine style.

The Kiwis, on the other hand, will rue the missed opportunities, especially Stokes' wicket off a no-ball from Colin de Grandhomme.