“Joe Root will probably end up breaking all records” – Nasser Hussain

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has predicted that Joe Root will break all English batting records, while also saying that he is the finest player of spin the country has ever produced. It was Joe Root’s 258-run aggregate that helped England take a 1-0 lead in the ongoing four-Test series against India.

In his column for Sky Sports, Hussain labelled Joe Root as one of England’s all-time greats and even backed him to surpass Sir Alastair Cook’s record of most Tests played and most runs scored in the longest format by an Englishman. Root has scored 8,507 runs from 100 Tests so far.

“Root sure is one of England’s greats. He will probably end up breaking all records, he will probably go past Sir Alastair Cook’s 161 Test matches and probably tally of runs [12,472] as well. He is in great nick, only 30 years old, and if you did a list of all-time England batting greats – the ones I have seen anyway – you’d have to have Root with Cook, Graham Gooch and Kevin Pietersen."

“I would say he is arguably England’s best-ever player of spin, the way he sweeps spin away is outstanding to watch,” Nasser Hussain, who scored 8,096 runs across 96 Tests and 88 ODIs, wrote.

Joe Root made the most of a sedate pitch and racked up 218 off 377 balls to power England to a mammoth 578 all out in the first innings. Then, when the pitch started turning square from Day 4, the England captain employed his sweeps to perfection to smash a counter-attacking 32-ball 40 and set India a target of 420 runs. The Virat Kohli-led side eventually fell short by 227 runs.

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Nasser Hussain hails the away winning streak of Joe Root's side

With India having recently won a historic Test series Down Under and Virat Kohli back from paternity leave, almost the entire cricketing fraternity had touted India as favourites to win the series against England. But Joe Root’s boys handed the hosts a reality check in the opening fixture itself.

While highlighting the enormity of beating India in their own backyard, Nasser Hussain lauded England for dominating from the word go and churning out one of their greatest wins overseas.

“People were writing England off, saying this series could be 4-0 to India. No one really gave this side much of a chance. India had won in Australia, Virat Kohli was back and India is a very difficult place to go and win in Test match cricket. So, this win for England has to be right up there, especially away from home."

“They put in the perfect performance. From ball one to the final delivery, it was outstanding. If you asked Joe Root or Chris Silverwood now whether they are the best side in the world, they would say no. But they have been the best side they can be. Six away from home in a row, if you go back to South Africa last winter,” Nasser Hussain elaborated.

Joe Root’s boys are currently on a six-match winning spree in overseas Tests, their best run in more than a century. They had won seven consecutive away Tests – three in South Africa and four in Australia – between December 1911 and January 1914.

They arrived in India on the back of a 3-1 win in South Africa in January 2020 and a 2-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka last month.