England’s Joe Root has been surpassing records and milestones since the start of the Test series vs India. It took him some time to get into the groove with just one fifty in the first four innings. But he soon found his footing and hit three hundreds in the next five innings. The latest century kept England in the hunt during their chase of 374 even as India fought back.
Brilliant Knock
The right-handed Root made 105 in 152 balls with 12 fours. He was the sixth wicket to fall with 37 still needed. England ended the day on 339/6 with 35 runs required while India need three wickets as the odds of Chris Woakes batting at virtually zero. Root added 105 runs for the fourth wicket with Harry Brook (111) to put the pressure on India before the tourists responded in kind.
Breaking Barriers
During the course of his 105, Root entered uncharted territory once more. When he reached 25, he became the first man in World Test Championship (WTC) history to breach the 6000-run barrier. He’s way ahead in the lead and also leads the pack with 20 centuries. But that was not the only milestone the 34-year-old achieved that day.
Root is also the first person to face 10,000 balls in the WTC. That record will take some getting and it just shows the dominance of the man. He is just setting new benchmarks every day. This was also his 39th century meaning Root has now gone past Sangakkara to take the fourth spot all by himself. Sachin Tendulkar (51), Jacques Kallis (45) and Ricky Ponting (41) are the only ones in front of him. Overall, Root has 13,543 runs to his name, second only to Sachin’s 15,921. He needs 2379 to go past the legend and become No. 1. It remains to be seen when and if.