Joe Root has continued his exceptional form in the second Test match against Sri Lanka. The 33-year-old batter slammed his 33rd Test century, equaling Alastair Cook’s record. Both Root and Cook now share the title of England’s most Test century scorers. Cook’s illustrious Test career saw him score 33 hundreds in 291 innings, while Root achieved the same in 264 innings.
Joe Root Levels With Alastair Cook
England were invited to bat first in the second Test. However, it was Joe Root who anchored the innings, being the only middle-order batter to settle in. Root reached his century off 162 balls, even as England had already lost six wickets. It was a remarkable knock under pressure, earning Root a standing ovation from Alastair Cook in the commentary box as he equaled Cook’s record for the most Test centuries by an England player.
Joe Root also broke Alastair Cook’s record of the most Test runs on English soil. Root now has over 6,600 Test runs in England, surpassing Cook’s 6,568 runs at home. With today’s innings, the 33-year-old batter also overtook Yashasvi Jaiswal to become the leading run-scorer in Test cricket in 2024. Root has now accumulated over 830 runs this year, while Jaiswal follows with 740 runs.
Root Eyes More Records
Joe Root is on the verge of becoming England’s greatest batter. He currently needs around 250 more runs to surpass Alastair Cook and become England’s highest Test run-scorer. Cook leads the tally with 12,472 runs. Overall, Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for the most Test runs in history, with 15,921 runs. If Root maintains this level of consistency for the next 4-5 years, he could potentially surpass Tendulkar as well.
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Another record on Joe Root’s radar is the most 50+ scores in Test cricket. Today marked his 97th fifty-plus score, while Sachin Tendulkar holds the record with 119 such scores. Although this might seem distant, Root is 18 centuries away from equaling Tendulkar’s record of 51 Test hundreds. At the moment, Root appears to be the strongest contender to challenge these records, as he is 33 years old with plenty of cricket left in his career. He primarily plays red-ball cricket, which works to his advantage.