England opener Zak Crawley had all but praise for his senior colleague Joe Root, after the latter’s masterful hundred dragged the visiting side to safety on Day 1 of the fourth Test against India, at the JSCA Stadium in Ranchi on Friday.
Root, who had a below-par series so far, revived the English innings, which was struggling a 112 for five at Lunch, and took it beyond 300 at the end of the day’s play.
“[It was a] phenomenal knock. He [Root] is probably the only player in our who could have played that knock. He is that good and he is our best player. He stepped up when we needed him. 2-1 down and 112/5, we needed him to score and he did it like he has done for so many years,” Crawley said after Stumps.
Root was watchful in his knock, straying away from the attacking blueprint of England’s Bazball cricket. The 33-year-old scored just nine fours in his knock of 106 off 226 balls.
Crawley though felt that the defensive approach might have been just to counter the unpredictable nature of the Ranchi pitch.
“I don’t know. I haven’t asked him [about not being aggressive]. I have never questioned Joe on anything. Except for asking him for advice about my batting. I reckon if the pitch had been truer, he would have played the shots,” Crawley opined.
“I think it was the variable bounce that stopped him from playing the scoops and paddles. In Dharamsala, if they give a flatter wicket, I would fully expect him to reverse-ramp one.”
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Before Root took over, Crawley was in the thick of the action, with the 26-year-old scoring a run-a-ball 42, before he was castled by Akash Deep.
“It was nipping a lot and it was quick. They [Siraj and Akash] bowled really well in the first hour. I felt like we had to throw a counter-punch. We couldn’t really sit there like they did later on in the day. It was all about reading the situation,” Crawler added.
“Thankfully, I got a couple away. Jonny [Bairstow] also did the same. And when the time came, the boys dug in and batted beautifully.”
Before Root took over, Crawley was in the thick of the action, with the 26-year-old scoring a run-a-ball 42, before he was castled by Akash Deep. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
The English opener also added that even though the pitch eased out later on in the match, there was a lot on offer for the spinners.
“I expected variable bounce. Look at those cracks. They certainly did less and less as the opening spell went on. I fell very early. But it looked like, it wasn’t bouncing anywhere near as much or as quickly as it was earlier. I think it got harder against the spin. I think it will continue to break up. Hopefully, it will continue to be a new ball wicket when we bowl tomorrow. But I feel it will get harder to play spin,” added Crawley.
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