"Steely toughness in his eye" - Nasser Hussain in awe of Joe Root's knock on day 1 of IND vs ENG 4th Test

Former England skipper Nasser Hussain hailed Joe Root for his magnificent hundred on Day 1 of the 4th Test against India in Ranchi on Friday, February 23. Hussain observed that he saw a completely different Root from the one he had a decade ago.

Root rescued England out of trouble as he hit a record 31st Test hundred in Ranchi. Walking in at 47-2 and with the tourists soon finding themselves at 112-5, he bed in to take England to 302-7 in 90 overs.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Hussain earmarked the 33-year-old to go down as one of England's greatest. He observed how he batted in Ranchi with a sense of purpose, saying:

"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."

The 55-year-old elaborated that Root has always been his biggest critic, prompting him to come up with the goods, adding:

"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."

The right-hander reached the three-figure mark in the 84th over of the day with a drive through the covers off Akash Deep's bowling. His celebrations were subdued.

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"He has every single shot in the book" - Nasser Hussain on Joe Root

Nasser Hussain. (Image Credits: Getty)

Hussain also pointed out how Root put away his sweeps and reverse sweeps for the most part of his innings at Ranchi, saying:

"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."

Root shared important partnerships with Ben Foakes and Ollie Robinson en route to England's total of 302-7 on Day 1.