New Delhi: England batter Joe Root smashed his 37th ton on Day 2 of the third Test match in the ongoing five-match Test series against India at Lord’s Cricket Ground—becoming the only active player with the most Test centuries.
Root, who had been on a century spree last year, has inched closer to Sachin Tendulkar’s all-time record of most centuries (51) in Test cricket.
Currently, he stands at the fifth spot in the tally, after Jack Kallis (45), Ricky Pointing (41) and Kumar Sangakkara (38).
On Day 1, Root stood tall with a valiant knock but finished at 99 as England ended Day 1 on 251 for four.
Root was all set to complete his 37th Test century before stumps on day 1. But, on the fourth ball of the final over of the day, he pushed the length delivery from Akash Deep towards backward point and took a single.
As he turned back for the second run, the crowd cheered in premature celebration.
But just as he came half way to the crease, Ben Stokes refused the run noticing the ball was in Ravindra Jadeja’s hands.
Root’s achievement of 103 fifty-plus scores, including 37 centuries and 67 fifties, puts him in joint second place with Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting.
Now his eyes are set on Sachin Tendulkar’s top record of 119 fifty-plus scores in Test matches.
The ton also marked his 55th international century, equalling Hashim Amla’s record of most hundreds by an English batter in a career.
He is also now the highest run-scorer across all formats at Lord’s, piling 2,527 runs in 33 matches at the venue, surpassing Graham Gooch’s previous record of 2,513 runs.
With this valiant innings on Day 1, he is now the only player to score 3,000 runs against India in Test cricket. The former England captain now has 3,055 runs in 33 Tests against India, including 11 centuries.
If Root can extend his knock further in England’s first innings, he could have the chance to rise to third spot in the all-time highest run-scorer list in Test history. With 13,214 runs, he stands just 77 runs away from surpassing Jacques Kallis (13,289) and Rahul Dravid (13,288).
Currently, England’s score stands at 251/4. For India, Nitish Kumar Reddy scalped two wickets, while Jasprit Bumrah and Jadeja picked on each.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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