LONDON (Kashmir English): England’s star batsman and Test captain Joe Root broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most half-centuries in Test cricket during the Edgbaston Test against Pakistan.
In the Edgbaston Test against Pakistan, Joe Root played an unbeaten innings of 62 runs, marking his 69th half-century in Test cricket. With this feat, he surpassed Sachin Tendulkar to become the batsman with the most half-centuries in the format.
Root achieved this milestone in 309 innings, whereas Tendulkar had scored 68 half-centuries in 329 innings. West Indies’ Shivnarine Chanderpaul holds third place with 66 half-centuries; Allan Border and Rahul Dravid share fourth place with 63 half-centuries each; and Ricky Ponting sits in fifth place with 62 half-centuries.
The record for the most centuries in Test cricket is still held by Sachin Tendulkar, who scored 51 centuries. South Africa’s Jacques Kallis is second with 45 centuries, while Joe Root and Ricky Ponting are tied for third place with 41 centuries each.
Joe Root is now also closing in on Tendulkar’s record for the most runs in Test cricket. Tendulkar scored 15,921 Test runs, while the 35-year-old Root stands in second place with 14,278 runs.
Ricky Ponting is in third place with 13,378 runs. Among current cricketers, Australia’s 37-year-old Steve Smith features on this list with 10,920 Test runs; however, he remains far behind Tendulkar’s record.
