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England opener Zak Crawley heaped praise on Joe Root following his gritty hundred on Day 1 of the fourth Test against India in Ranchi. The Kent batter said that the team are ecstatic for Root and that he's the only player who could've played that knock.
Root starred with a sensational hundred to rescue England from a precarious 112-5. The Yorkshire batter reached the three-figure mark for the first time in the series and for the 31st tme in Test cricket in the 84th over of the day with a boundary.
At a presser after the day's play, Crawley said that the team never doubted Root's ability despite his struggles. The 25-year-old reckons the former captain has reaped the fruit for working hard. As quoted by ESPN Cricinfo, he said:
"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. 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."
Before the Test, the 33-year-old was in scrutiny, as he hadn't played as per expectations and triggered backlash for his reverse scoop in Rajkot. However, Root ended the day unbeaten on 106 to propel the tourists to 302-7.
"I felt there was one with my name on it" - Zak Crawley
Crawley said that as the new ball nipped quite a lot, the visitors had to play aggressively before departing. However, he was full of praise for the middle-order batters for tackling spin well:
"It was nipping a lot and nipping quickly. I was trying to bat normally at the start and it was seaming, too difficult. I felt there was one with my name on it.
"So we had to throw a couple of punches back, and myself and Jonny did that really well actually. Then it got easier, but it was tricky against the spin for the middle-order boys, and they judged that really well. They read the situation and played unbelievably."
Root shared a crucial 113-run stand with Ben Foakes, who made 47, and an unbroken 57 with Ollie Robinson.
