New Delhi: England batter Joe Root broke his silence on approaching the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s all-time record for most runs in Test history. Root became England’s most prolific centurion of all time as he went past Alastair Cook with his 34th Test century in the 2nd Test against Sri Lanka at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London on Saturday.
Root, who has been enjoying a stunning run with the willow, slammed back-to-back centuries in the Lord’s Test against Sri Lanka. After a brilliant knock of 143 runs in the first innings, the right-hander smashed a 103-run knock in the second innings to leave Cook behind in the list of England batters with the most centuries in Test cricket.
Root’s 34th Test ton also put him on the verge of surpassing Cook as England’s leading run-getter of all time in Tests as the senior batter needs only 95 runs to achieve the elusive feat. Currently 7th on the list of highest run-getters in Test cricket with 12, 377 runs to his name in 145 matches, the former England captain has a realistic chance of overtaking Tendulkar at the top.
Tendulkar, who is regarded as one of the greatest batters of all time, is the highest run-getter in Test history with 15,921 runs to his name. Root needs 3545 runs to topple the Master Blaster and has a healthy chance to do so as he has both form and age by his side. The England batter recently shared his thoughts on breaking Tendulkar’s record for most runs in Test cricket.
“I just want to play, and try, and do my bit for the team and score the runs as many as I can and see where we get to. But there’s no better feeling I mean, it’s obviously amazing when, you score 100, you’d be lying if you said it wasn’t, a big part of why you start playing the game and what you love about it,” Root said in a video shared by England Cricket.
“But there’s no better feeling than winning a Test match. So the more, it can affect games and the more you can, add to the team, the greater it is. So, that will be the main focus. And hopefully, more days like this will come with that mentality,” he added.
1️⃣ Sachin Tendulkar – 15921 runs
⬆️ Joe Root – 12377 runs
Half an eye on Sachin’s record, Joe? 👀
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) August 31, 2024
Joe Root with healthy chance to topple Sachin Tendulkar
Root has been in scintillating form in Test cricket ever since stepping down as England’s captain in the longest format. With the captaincy burden off his back, he has been incredibly consistent in the whites and has been delivering consistently. The England batter has amassed an impressive 4554 runs from 48 matches at an average of 56.92 with 17 hundreds and 15 fifties to his name in Tests since 2021.
With England set to play six more Test matches this year, Root has a great chance of closing the gap further on Tendulkar’s record and moving closer to toppling him. Root is also the leading run-getter in the World Test Championship (WTC) with 4948 runs from 57 matches at an excellent average of 52.08, including 16 tons and 20 fifties.
England star Joe Root opened up on the chance of breaking the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most runs in Test histiry after smashing twin centuries in the Lord’s Test against Sri Lanka. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
