Joe Root’s place in cricketing lore has been ensured through breaking many milestones- the monumental kind. On 9 October, he surpassed Alastair Cook as England’s all-time leading run-scorer in Test cricket and went past Sunil Gavaskar’s record 34 Test centuries during the first Test match in Multan against Pakistan. With each stride more incredible than the last, his achievements continue to push him up the ladder as one of the best batters in the modern era.
Root Surpasses Alastair Cook as England’s Leading Run-Getter
Joe Root has been an example of unbelievable consistency over the years. The first Test against Pakistan considerably marked a milestone in Root’s career by becoming the highest run-scorer for England in Test cricket. He dislodged former England captain Alastair Cook, who had managed 12,472 runs off 161 matches.
He did this in only his 147th Test, after having been wonderfully consistent since his 2012 debut. At the fall of wickets on Day 3 of the Test in Multan, Root brought up 71 runs with a sublime on-drive to overtake Cook’s record. The fans and colleagues celebrated this landmark in what has indeed been an invaluable contribution to England’s cricketing legacy.
Breaking Sunil Gavaskar’s Record: Root’s 35th Test Century
Well, the big day for records didn’t just stop with one, as Joe Root went to materialise his 35th Test century to move past Sunil Gavaskar’s 34 hundreds. Adaptability both towards pace and spin bowling has been the hallmark of Root’s career, and this century was no different. He reached the landmark in the second session of the day with a composed single off Pakistan’s Abrar Ahmed.
Root’s century also separated him from cricketing greats like Brian Lara, Mahela Jayawardene, and Younis Khan, who had been sitting on 34 centuries. Gavaskar’s record of 34 Test centuries had stood for nearly two decades until it was first broken by Sachin Tendulkar, and now Root to join the elite.
Read Also:- Mitchell Starc Sets Unwanted Record
The Elite Company: Root Among the Top 5 All-Time Test Run-Scorers
All this, along with the run-scoring spree in this new century, catapulted Joe Root into the top five leading run-scorers in Test cricket ever. With 12,473* runs, he certainly stands alongside the great names of the game. He now comes in the company of top Test batsmen like Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, and Rahul Dravid, further ahead of whom is only the monumental record by Tendulkar with 15,921 runs.
That Root is the only active cricketer on this elite list, and he is still capable-or at least could be-of playing for several years more, has sparked debates about whether he might eventually overthrow Tendulkar’s record-an achievement for so long-quarters seen as impossible.
| Most Runs in Test Cricket | Matches | Runs | Hundreds | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sachin Tendulkar | 200 | 15,921 | 51 | 53.78 |
| Ricky Ponting | 168 | 13,378 | 41 | 51.85 |
| Jacques Kallis | 166 | 13,289 | 45 | 55.37 |
| Rahul Dravid | 164 | 13,288 | 36 | 52.31 |
| Joe Root | 147* | 12,473* | 35* | 50.91 |
Root’s Recent Form: The leader of the modern “Fab Four”.
In the past few years, Joe Root has managed to edge ahead of his contemporaries in the so-called “Fab Four,” comprising Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, and Steve Smith. Consistency in churning runs out, while the captaincy of England weighed heavily upon him, might easily make him the finest Test batter of this era.
He has scored at least 1,000 runs in three of the last four calendar years, with 17 hundreds in that time. He has been phenomenal in the World Test Championship, where he became the first player to cross 5,000 runs in this WTC cycle, adding more greatness to his CV.
Read Also:- Virat Kohli to play Ranji Trophy 2024/25
The Potential of Root to Break Tendulkar’s Record
Breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record for 15,921 Test runs has still seemed a tall ask, though cricket experts believe if anyone can challenge this record in modern cricket, it’s Joe Root. At 33, Root has shown no signs of slowing down, and the adaptability to keep him a prolific scorer indeed places him well to inch closer towards the “Himalayan” figure.
Root is right behind Sachin Tendulkar (15,921), Ricky Ponting (13,378), Jacques Kallis (13,289), and Rahul Dravid (13,288), and he will look to pip them out as he continues to plunder heaps of runs.
The 33-year-old has a lot of cricket left in him and looks set to even surpass Tendulkar to claim the pole position in years to come. He needs a little over 3,000 runs to take the top spot.
