Who said what - top 5 expert reactions to Joe Root's superb hundred in Ranchi Test ft. Alastair Cook

Senior England batter Joe Root scored a terrific hundred in England’s first innings in the ongoing fourth Test against India at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi. After India won the toss and decided to bowl first, the hosts came up with an impressive effort to reduce England to 112/5 by lunch on Day 1.

Root, however, batted with great resilience and featured in a crucial sixth-wicket partnership of 113 with Ben Foakes (47 off 126). He also added 102 for the eighth wicket with Ollie Robinson (58 off 96) as England made a strong recovery to finish with 353 in their first innings. Root remained unbeaten on 122 off 274 balls, a knock which featured 10 fours.

The former England captain was under pressure after he failed to register a single half-century in the first three Test matches. On a number of occasions, he was dismissed trying to play pre-meditated aggressive strokes. In the first innings in Ranchi, though, he reined himself in and compiled a typical Test match ton.

In the wake of Root’s excellent hundred, we look at some of the best expert reactions to his knock.

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#1 “Rohit-like. Pure and utter class” - Alastair Cook

Alastair Cook (left) with Joe Root (Pic: Getty Images)

England legend Alastair Cook hailed Root as a pure and class batter while analyzing his hundred in Ranchi. According to Cook, the batter went back to his basics and played an ‘un-Bazball’ innings, which was very effective.

"What Joe Root did today (Friday) was go back to basics. This is a clip of someone with the shots you'd expect Joe Root to play. All the talk about the reverse scoop being unusual, this is a very typical Joe innings,” Cook told TNT Sport.

"Slightly slower than normal but the tempo and his rhythm of batting is what makes him stand out. When he's in fine flow he's got such a nice easy way about him, Rohit (Sharma)-like. Pure and utter class, great player of spin and he has all the options covered,” he added.

It was a much-needed innings for Root after he had registered scores of 29, 2, 5, 16, 18 and 7 in the previous three Tests of the series.

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#2 “Root and England showed common sense” - Michael Vaughan

Joe Root (right) speaks with Michael Vaughan. (Pic: Getty Images)

Writing in his column for The Telegraph, former England captain Michael Vaughan stated that he was happy to see Root and the team show common sense and bat according to the situation. Vaughan opined that England could have been all out in 45 overs had they continued with their Bazball approach.

“This was the day Bazball met common sense. They are two characters that have not always got on, but on day one in Ranchi it proved the perfect combination,” Vaughan wrote.

“Because Root and England went down the gears and showed common sense, we have a Test match on our hands. It’s the first time for a long time where I’ve seen a distinct change in method which the situation dictated, demanded even, of them. And they did it,” he added in his column.

Root’s hundred on Friday was his 31st in the red-ball format. He is playing in his 139th Test.

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#3 “He showed exceptional class under difficult circumstances” - Anil Kumble

Former India captain Anil Kumble (Pic: Getty Images)

Former India captain Anil Kumble praised Root’s knock and said that he showed a lot of class when the pressure was on. Kumble also pointed out that he played according to the situation and was rewarded for the same.

“He kept it very simple and showed exceptional class under difficult circumstances. Whether you are in form or not, you still have to give that respect to bowlers on the first 15-20 balls and that’s exactly what he did. He assessed the conditions and the bowlers at that time," Kumble told JioCinema

Akash Deep was bowling brilliantly, so he wanted to ensure that he rode through that difficult period. That’s what you expect in a Test match from really class players,” he added.

Root came into bat after England lost Ben Duckett (11) and Ollie Pope (0) in the . 10th over. He batted till the end and ensured the visitors crossed 350.

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#4 “You don't keep a great player down for long” - Nasser Hussain

Former England captain Nasser Hussain (Pic: Getty Images)

Former England captain Nasser Hussain said that Root was absolutely outstanding on Day 1 in Ranchi, adding that he got his tempo perfect on a difficult pitch. Hussain also observed that Root not only batted differently, but also had a steely toughness in his eyes.

“It was an absolute pleasure to watch. 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 England's greatest ever batter and the stats will tell you that by the end of his career," Hussain told Sky Sports.

“He had a steely toughness in his eye today. The Joe Root we've seen over the last decade or so has had that sort of boyish smile on his face where he's loved playing cricket, and he's reminded himself of being that young boy growing up playing cricket," he added.

Root’s fine 274-ball knock in the first innings in Ranchi lasted 362 minutes.

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#5 “There is a misconception that Root has been playing the extrovert under instruction” - Atherton

Joe Root (right) speaks to former England captain Michael Atherton. (Pic: Getty Images)

In his column for The Times UK, another former England skipper, Michael Atherton, dismissed the theory that Root had been given instructions to bat aggressively. Referring to the senior batter’s ton in Ranchi, he stated that Root is smart enough to know when a recalibration is needed.

"There is a misconception that Root has been playing the extrovert of late under instruction, but that is not the case. Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes are not prescriptive and the expansion of Root’s game has been self-driven, prompted by a desire to buy into a new era out of loyalty to Stokes as well as a desire not to miss out on the fun. But he is smart enough to know when a recalibration is needed; he knew that in Wellington and he knew it here," Atherton wrote in his column.

With his 31 ton on Friday, Root surpassed Matthew Hayden (30) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (30) on the list of batters with the most Test hundreds.