LONDON (Kashmir English): Joe Root became the first English batsman to score 13,000 Test runs, achieving the milestone during the four-day Test against Zimbabwe at Edgbaston.
With achieving the landmark, Joe Root becomes 5th highest run-scorer in Test history, joining Sachin Tendulkar (15921 runs), Ricky Ponting (13378), Jacques Kallis (13289), and Rahul Dravid (13288).
Against Zimbabwe, Root began match on 12,972 Test runs and needed just 28 more to reach the landmark.
He crossed the milestone with elegance that have defined his career in the longest format.
Root now the fastest player
With the landmark achievement, Root is now the fastest player, in terms of matches, to reach 13,000 Test runs. He did so in his 153rd match.
In terms of innings, Root reached the mark in his 279th innings, the fifth quickest in Test history.
Master blaster Tendulkar of India remains the fastest in innings, having achieved the milestone in 266.
The English batter also won laurels for this country, which had never before seen a countryman cross the 13,000-run threshold in Test crickets.
Root has 36 centuries and will look to close the gap on Tendulkar’s 68 fifties and 51 hundreds.
Tendulkar’s all-time record of 15,921 Test runs would be his next major milestone in sight.
England national side is scheduled to play at least eight more Tests in 2025, offering Root more chances to further close the gap on the Indian legend, Rahul Dravid while global cricketing community will be watching closely.
