Joe Root: Sheffield batting icon eyes elusive feat v India in Lord’s Test
Joe Root has not looked imperious against India, but the Sheffield batting icon can still run riot in the remainder of the five-match Test series. On Thursday, the former England skipper will have an unprecedented feat in sight at the monumental Lord’s.
Standing on the cusp of history, Root is one good knock away from adding another feather to his illustrious crown. Batting icon Root has amassed 2,955 runs against India in 32 Test matches. The 34-year-old only needs 45 runs to become the first batter to complete 3,000 runs against India in the longest format. The veteran batter has an exceptional record against India.
After the first two Tests of the five-match series, Root averaged 54.97 against India in 59 innings. Root has 10 Test centuries under his belt against India. The milestone man from Sheffield is set to record his 156th Test appearance for England at Lord’s. Already England’s leading run-scorer, Joe Root ranks fifth among Test cricket’s all-time greats. Root has over 13,000 runs in the longest format.
Root vs Tendulkar
As former England skipper Michael Atherton rightly pointed out, the Yorkshire batter has a 'great chance' to overtake Sachin Tendulkar as Test cricket's leading run-scorer. Root is only behind Tendulkar (15,921), Ricky Ponting (13,378), Jacques Kallis (13,289) and Rahul Dravid (13,288) on the all-time run-getters list in Tests.
Root surpassed Alastair Cook to become England’s highest run scorer in Test cricket last year. He has crossed the 1000-run mark in a single year on five occasions. Only Tendulkar has more 1000-run years (6) in Test cricket than Root.
Who is the No.1 batter in Test cricket?
The former England skipper lost the top spot in the latest ICC Test rankings to his Yorkshire teammate Harry Brook on the eve of the 3rd Test against India. Root scored an unbeaten 53 off 84 balls to set up England’s five-wicket win over India in the series opener at Headingley. At an average of 36.33, England’s batting bedrock has scored 109 runs across four innings against India in the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy.