England vs Pakistan 1st Test : England star Joe Root’s remarkable form in Test cricket continued as he scored his 35th century on Day 3 of the first Test against Pakistan in Multan. Given Root's current performance, it seems likely he could surpass even the great Sachin Tendulkar often referred to as the God of Cricket. He is setting records in nearly every match and this time he has achieved a significant milestone, becoming England's highest Test run scorer, surpassing the legendary Alastair Cook.
On the third day of the Test in Multan, the 33 year old Root eclipsed Cook's tally of 12,472 Test runs. He reached this milestone with an elegant straight drive past Aamer Jamal to score 71 runs against Pakistan. This match marks Root's 147th Test placing him behind only India’s Rahul Dravid, South Africa’s Jacques Kallis, Australia’s Ricky Ponting, and Tendulkar in the elite list of players with the most runs in Test history, with Tendulkar at the top with 15,921 runs.
Joe Root made his Test debut against India in Nagpur in 2012 and has since scored 35 centuries, including 5 double centuries, with his highest score being 254 against Pakistan.
Most runs in Test cricket
15921 - Sachin Tendulkar
13378 - Ricky Ponting
13289 - Jacques Kallis
13288 - Rahul Dravid
12473+* - Joe Root
12472 - Alastair Cook
12400 - Kumar Sangakkar
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Joe Root soon converted his half century into a brilliant century against Pakistan. He has scored a Test hundred in every country where he has played at least four matches, except Australia, where he has played 14 Tests without a century.
21 Hundreds in England
4 Hundreds in West Indies
3 Hundreds in India
3 Hundreds in Sri Lanka
2 Hundreds in New Zealand
1 Hundred in South Africa
Five or more Test hundreds in most calendar years
4 - Matthew Hayden (2001, 2002, 2003, 2005)
4 - Ricky Ponting (2002, 2003, 2005, 2006)
3 - Jacques Kallis (2004, 2007, 2010)
3 - Steven Smith (2014, 2015, 2017)
3 - Joe Root (2021, 2022, 2024)**
Joe Root in Test Cricket
2013 to 2020 - 17 hundreds
2021 to 2024 - 18* hundreds
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During his innings, Root reached the milestone of 5,000 runs in the World Test Championship (WTC), becoming the first batter to achieve this landmark since the tournament's inception in 2019.
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With his 35th century, Root has now surpassed several iconic names in the cricketing world, including India's Sunil Gavaskar. Gavaskar was the first batter to score 10,000 Test runs and 34 Test centuries.
Most hundreds in Test cricket
51 – Sachin Tendulkar
45 – Jacques Kallis
41 – Ricky Ponting
38 – Kumar Sangakkara
36 – Rahul Dravid
35 – Joe Root*
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