TON 'N GROOVE

Zak: We knew Root would stop the rot

- DAVID CHARLESWORTH

ZAK CRAWLEY says England never doubted "phenomenal" Joe Root would return to form.

The former captain has struggled for runs, not even reaching 30 in the first three Tests in India.

But he returned in sensational style to hit a century as England recovered from an early mini-collapse to take charge of the must-win fourth Test in Ranchi.

"He's probably the only bloke in our team who could have done that knock, he's that good and he's stepped up when we needed him to," said Crawley.

"He's a phenomenal player. We fully expected him to get a good score at some point in this series. He was due, he's the best player we've ever had and he played phenomenally.