Skipper Joe Root played a vital role as England registered a comprehensive 227-run victory over India in the first Test at Chepauk to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.
Playing his 100th Test, Root led the team from the front as he smashed 218 to propel the visitors to a massive 578 in the first innings. The England captain also scored a quick-fire 40 in the second essay, enabling the tourists to set an improbable target of 420 for India.
WATCH - Ravi Shastri congratulates Joe Root for his double ton
In the fourth innings, the hosts got bowled out for 192 with left-arm spinner Jack Leach (4-76) and veteran pacer James Anderson (3-17) doing the bulk of the damage.
After the match, former England captain Nasser Hussain showered rich praise on Root, hailing him as England’s "arguably" the best ever player of spin and also tipped him to break all the Test batting records accumulated by the country’s batsmen.
"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 as well," Hussain wrote in his column for 'Sky Sports'.
"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."
For Nasser Hussain, the Chennai Test victory was a "perfect performance" and will go down as one of the great England Test wins.
"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."
According to Hussain, England have improved immensely while touring, having won six successive Tests away from home.
"If you asked Joe Root or Chris Silverwood right 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.
"They are starting to answer the right questions about how to improve away from home," he said.
On Day 5, Anderson got the ball to reverse and bowled just about the right lengths. He dismissed Shubman Gill (50), Ajinkya Rahane (0) and Rishabh Pant (11) and broke the back of Indian middle-order.
Despite his magical spell, Hussain feels Anderson can be rested and Stuart Broad should be brought in for the second Test.
"Anderson is 38 so Stuart Broad could come in for him as it is going to be a very similar pitch to the first Test and England might want to keep Anderson fresh for the third Test.
"That is a day-night game in Ahmedabad (third Test) and Anderson under lights could be a real handful. Broad is a pretty good replacement, I have to say!"
England captain Root had copped a lot of criticism for not declaring their second innings in the final session on Day 4, even after the lead crossed the 400-run mark.
However, Hussain defended Root, saying: "... there is always a 45-minute gap between what pundits, spectators, people off the field think the captain should be doing and what actually happens. If you are not going to enforce the follow on, then you want to rest your bowlers. Root wanted to make sure they were fresh to go again."
(With PTI inputs)
