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• Brook labelled as 'best in the world' by England centurion Root

  Joe Root lauded Harry Brook as the world's best batter after England completed their series victory away to New Zealand on Sunday.

  Ben Stokes' tourists coasted to a 323-run victory in the second Test against New Zealand, sealing an unassailable 2-0 series lead.

  It looked like England could be in trouble in Wellington after slipping to 43-4 in the first innings, only for Brook's 123 and 66 from Ollie Pope dragging their side to 280 all out.

  Brook now has seven centuries in just 10 Tests away from home, the most by any batter in his first 10 such outings outside of their home country.

  Yorkshire and England team-mate Root believes there is no player better than Brook at present.

  "Just been a great week, from the position we were in, to then manage to win the game by day three, just shows how well the boys played," Root said.

  "That partnership from Popey and Brooky, who is in my eyes the best player in the world at the minute.

  "He's got it all, he can absorb pressure and put it back on you. He is destructive against both pace and spin, to manage those conditions exceptionally well and play some great counter-attacking cricket."

  Root compiled a 130-ball 106 in the second innings as Stokes' side hammered home their advantage, with Jacob Bethell adding 96, four more than opener Ben Duckett managed.

  England great Root now has 36 centuries in Tests, the joint-fifth most by any batter, alongside India's Rahul Dravid.

  He brought up three figures with a trademark ramp over New Zealand wicket-keeper Tom Blundell from the bowling of seamer Will O’Rourke.

  Root admitted the shot was somewhat pre-meditated, having seen the hosts alter the field.

  "It wasn't [at first pre-meditated], and then they brought third man up," Root added.

  "I was like it's the new ball, they are more likely to go length than short. It's worth a gamble, it's worth the risk!"

• India players 'not scarred' by Australia thrashing, insists Rohit

  India captain Rohit Sharma insisted his side's thrashing against Australia in their second Test will not leave his players with mental scars. 

  Australia romped to a 10-wicket triumph in Adelaide on Sunday to level the five-match series, with Travis Head, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins starring for the tourists. 

  Head's knock of 140 from 141 deliveries in the first innings put the Baggy Greens in control, before Starc and Cummins took 15 wickets between them to seal an impressive victory. 

  Cummins claimed his ninth Test five-for, with only Richie Benaud (nine) and Imran Khan (12) taking more as a captain for their respective nations. 

  None of India's players made a half-century in either innings, while their bowling attack failed to capitalise when conditions were in their favour, but Rohit remained positive. 

  "Firstly, it's not a [mental] scar, it's just we've lost a Test match. We didn't play well enough," he said.

  "It's still 1-1 and plenty of things left in this series, and definitely a way for us to get back into it. I am not going to look too much into this game and start worrying about little things.

  "A disappointing week for us, we didn't play well, and Australia played better cricket than us and won the Test match. We failed to grab our opportunities. We didn't bat well enough, probably 30-40 runs short with the bat in the first innings.

  "There were opportunities when Australia were batting, and we failed to take those chances. When you miss those chances, it’s never easy."

  The third Test takes place next Saturday at The Gabba, with India hoping to replicate their last encounter at the iconic venue, when Rishabh Pant’s unbeaten 89 saw them chase down 328 to inflict Australia's first loss there since 1988. 

  "We are looking forward to it. [We have] some really good memories there. We want to start well and play well. There's not much time in between as well," he said. 

  "You know we just want to go out there and think about what we did right in Perth, and also what we did last time when we were here."

• 'Pumped up' Cummins delighted to see Australia back to their best

  Australia were "back to their best" in the second Test against India as they sealed a dominant 10-wicket win in Adelaide, so says Pat Cummins.

  Australia were 1-0 down in the Border-Gavaskar series following a heavy 295-run defeat from the first Test in Perth.

  But Cummins' side were in control from the very first ball, when Mitchell Starc, who took 6-48 in the first innings, dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal, and they never looked back, wrapping up the victory within three days.

  The Australian captain took a five-for in India's second innings, and belies his side returned to their level which saw them crowned ICC World Test champions last year.

  He said: "This week we were back to our best, the team I remember and how we want to play our cricket so it's really satisfying.

  "I was pretty pumped up. Probably felt like some big wickets in the context of the match.

  "Especially the pink ball, it feels like the margins have been quite small so maybe just pretty excited – more so than normal."

  Cummins also reserved special praise for Travis Head, whose magnificent innings of 140 helped take the game out of reach for India.

  "The game could have gone either way when Travis went out to bat but he shifted the momentum," he said.

  "The ball does a bit more under lights but the big thing was getting a big lead."

  Head hailed his captain for creating an environment which allowed him to perform.

  He said: "It was nice to get some runs again. I felt like I was in good form.

  "Pat gives me great confidence and I felt it was a great opportunity against the second new ball, so I tried to get as many as I could, and I managed to get the ball rolling."

  The five-match series resumes on December 14 in Brisbane.