Picture Credit: Twitter
Former India captain and current head of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Sourav Ganguly has showered praise on Joe Root after the latter's match-winning hundred against New Zealand at the Lord's Cricket Ground on Sunday. Ganguly rated Root as an all-time great as he was elated on seeing the former England captain produce his first century in the fourth innings of a Test match.
"Joe Roooooooot ..what a player what a knock under pressure ..an all time great .. @bcci @icc," Ganguly tweeted.
Check out his tweet here:
Other than this being Root's first hundred in the fourth innings of a Test, this was only the third hundred in the fourth innings at this venue which has come in a winning cause. The other two names on this list are of West Indian legend Gordon Greenidge and ex-England skipper Nasser Hussain.
Post a great Test match between England and New Zealand which was eventually won by the Three Lions, courtesy of a brilliant hundred from Root, Ganguly advocated for Test match cricket. He even advised keeping the longest form of the game at the pinnacle.
"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 ..," Ganguly wrote.
Meanwhile, Root was adjudged the Player of the Match for his performance which saw him score 12 boundaries and remain unbeaten until England were home. The innings was also important for him individually as this was his first match ever since he stepped down as the captain.
"It feels good for us to win a Test match. It feels like such a long time. Great to start strongly under Ben and Brendon and a great chance for us to kick on," Root said during the post-match presentation.
"A lot of people will talk about my personal performances, run-wise, but it's never enjoyable when you're losing. For us to start like this under Ben's leadership, it's a really exciting time," he added.