New Delhi: English batter Joe Root became England’s leading run scorer in Test cricket and also scored his 35th Test ton on Day 3 of the first Test between Pakistan and England in Multan.
Former England captain Alastair Cook played 161 and scored 12472 runs. Root went past Cook’s record in his 147th Test and continues to break records. He also scored his 35th Test hundred and overtook Sunil Gavaskar, Brian Lara, Younis Khan and Mahela Jayawardene in the leading centurions list.
With his fifth Test hundred in 2024, he also joined an elite list of batters who scored five or more tons in multiple calendar years. The star English batter has scored five or more hundreds in 2021, 2022 and 2024.
Root made his Test debut in 2012 and has averaged less than 40 only in 2019. He also broke into the top five in the list of all-time leading run-getters in Test cricket. He is also the only active cricketer with more than 10,000 Test runs. Root has scored 17 centuries in the last four years and has been the best Test batter among the big four.
‘You could say Sachin is still the favourite but..’: Alastair Cook
Alastair Cook while commentating on BBC’s Test Match Special said that Root can break Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most runs in Test cricket. Cook said that when he retired he thought his record would be broken. He further added that all the players who played cricket for a long time have been lucky with the injuries. Cook also said that he doesn’t see Root losing his hunger and ability to keep driving himself forward for the next couple of years and that will help him break Sachin’s record.
“I can see him overhauling Sachin Tendulkar’s record. When I retired, I thought there was every chance that my record will be broken. I thought only the effects of captaincy and the hunger that takes out of you would stop him. I think the fact that Ben Stokes has taken over the captaincy has helped Root” Cook said on BBC’s Test Match Special.
“You could say Sachin is still the favourite but just. All great players who played for a long time have been lucky with injuries. But I don’t see that happening for Root to lose that hunger and ability to keep driving himself forward for the next couple of years” he added.
Joe Root has surpassed Alastair Cook to become England’s leading run-scorer in Test cricket. The England batter also scored his 35th Test hundred in the first Test against Pakistan. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
