England captain Joe Root on Tuesday heartily praised the fitter and more-skillful-than-ever James Anderson for his match-winning spell against India in the opening Test and said having the veteran in the side puts him in a "very comfortable position". Root said the dismissal of Indian batsmen Shubman Gill and Ajinkya Rahane by Anderson in the space of three balls in the game, which England won by 227 runs on Tuesday, reminded him of Andrew Flintoff in the 2005 Ashes. Flintoff had dismissed Ricky Ponting and Justin Langer in one over in the second Test to revive England's hopes and campaign.

"It reminded me a little bit of (Andrew) Flintoff in 2005 (Edgbaston Test) and the impact of that over to (Ricky) Ponting and (Justin) Langer slightly. In the context of this game it was huge," Root said in the post-match press conference. "When you see someone like Jimmy Anderson, naturally you expect that from him," he added.