Manchester, UK– Joe Root of England, the world’s best Test batter, keeps raising the bar for greatness. During the Fourth Test against India at Old Trafford, he set numerous huge records that added to his already impressive career. He scored more centuries against India in Test cricket than any other player, passing former Australian skipper Steve Smith.
Root’s most recent century against India was his 12th against the Men in Blue, which shows how consistently great he is against one of cricket’s top teams. This accomplishment also showed that he is the best batter in England, as he now has nine Test hundreds against India there. This is the most by any batter against a single opponent in home Tests, even more than the great Don Bradman’s eight centuries against England.
Root’s Place Among the Best Test Cricketers
Root’s century in Manchester was his 23rd Test hundred in England, which places him in a very small group of players. He now shares the record for the most centuries in home Tests with Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis, and Mahela Jayawardene, who are all great cricketers.
Root not only did well against India, but he also moved up a lot in the all-time Test run-scoring lists. He passed Ricky Ponting, who used to be the captain of Australia, to become the second-highest run-scorer in Test cricket history.
Ricky Ponting: In 168 Tests, he scored 13,378 runs at an average of 51.85, including 41 hundreds and 62 fifties.
Joe Root has played in 157 Tests and scored 13,380 runs in 286 innings, with an average of 51.26. He has hit 38 centuries and 66 fifties. He still has a high score of 262.
Root’s 38 Test centuries also put him on par with Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara for the fourth most centuries in the lengthier format. He is presently behind only Ricky Ponting (41 tons), Jacques Kallis of South Africa (45 tons), and the legendary Sachin Tendulkar (51 tons).
Match Setting: Root and Stokes Give England Strength
At tea on Day 3, Root and skipper Ben Stokes had put together an important 84-run partnership off of 131 balls. This brought England’s score to 433/4 and gave them a 75-run advantage over India. Root had 121 runs and Stokes had 36. At the start of the second session, England was 332/2, 26 runs behind, with Ollie Pope (70) and Root (63) at the crease.
Root’s amazing form is still a key part of England’s Test success, and his most recent records make him even more of a legend as one of the best batters in the history of the sport.