Joe Root is regarded as one of the finest cricketers of his time and for England, possessing many records and honors. He is the top Test run-scorer for England and the fifth-highest in Test history, having amassed more than 13,000 runs.
In each Test match he competes in, the prolific right-handed batsman keeps pursuing legends and shattering records — and additional milestones may be attainable during the second Test versus India at Edgbaston.
The match will take place in Birmingham beginning on Wednesday. India is behind 0-1 in the series, unable to defend a target of 371 against the home team. Root performed well in the first Test, making 28 and remaining not out on 53*.
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Ready to overtake the GOATs
An additional century would enable him to surpass legends like Australia’s Steve Smith and India’s Rahul Dravid, making him the fifth-highest century-maker in Test history with 37 — only 15 shy of Indian great Sachin Tendulkar’s achievement of 51 in 200 matches.
On the global stage, another ton would enable Root to match South Africa’s Hashim Amla (55 centuries) as the sixth-greatest century scorer in all formats. At the forefront of that list is Tendulkar, boasting an astonishing 100 international centuries. To date, 18 of Root’s centuries have been scored in ODIs.
Where will he end?
Root is presently the fifth-leading run-scorer in Test history, accumulating 13,087 runs across 154 Tests and 281 innings at an average of 50.92, which features 36 centuries and 66 fifties. His highest career score is 262.
A classy knock of 202 runs at Edgbaston would allow him to exceed Rahul Dravid (13,288 runs from 164 Tests at an average of 52.31, with 36 hundreds) and rank as the fourth-highest run-scorer in Test history.
At that same point, Tendulkar had 12,273 runs, yet maintained a superior average (54.30) and recorded more centuries (40). However, Tendulkar had participated in only 252 innings – 29 fewer than Root’s total.
If Root, 34, continues to play until he is 40, as Tendulkar did, he has a strong possibility of surpassing the Little Master. Root, with 36 tons to his credit, requires 16 additional centuries to surpass Tendulkar’s world record.
