Several batting records tumbled on Day 3 of the Multan Test but none more significant than Joe Root surpassing Alastair Cook to become England’s all-time record run-getter in Test match history. Joe Root continued his fine run of form in Test cricket and became the first player from England to achieve a rare feat. Joe Root scored the 35th Test century of his career against Pakistan in the Multan Test. The 33-year-old went past former England captain Alastair Cook’s long-standing record during the innings.
Star England batter Joe Root continued his red-hot form in Test cricket during the first Test match between England and Pakistan at the Multan Cricket Stadium. The 33-year-old looked flawless on the crease despite being forced to bat at number three as he scored the 35th Test century of his career.
As a result of his incredible ton, which is his fifth in 2024, the former England batter has gone past Sunil Gavaskar, Brian Lara, Younis Khan, and Mahela Jayawardene in the elite list of players with the most Test tons. Each of the four mentioned players had scored 34 Test tons in their careers. Joe Root is now just one behind Rahul Dravid (36) and is sixth on the all-time list of most centuries in Test cricket history.
Joe Root – The Record Breaker for England team
Having passed Alastair Cook’s tally (12472 runs), Joe Root is now fifth in the list of all-time run-scorers in Test history. He has taken 268 innings to get these runs whereas Cook took 291 innings. Later during the day, Joe Root also scored his 35 Test hundred and surpassed legends like Sunil Gavaskar (34), Brian Lara (34), Mahela Jayawardene (34) and Younis Khan (34). Only five players have more Test tons than Joe Root.
Joe Root ended the day’s play unbeaten on 176. This is his 15th score of 150 or more in an innings in Tests. This is also his 14th century away from home – tying him for second spot with Ken Barrington. Only Alastair Cook (18) has more overseas hundreds for England in Test cricket.
Joe Root has scored a Test hundred in every country where he has played at least four or more Test matches, except Australia where he has played 14 Tests but never scored a hundred. This is Joe Root’s 18th Test century since the start of 2021. For context, from his debut till the end of 2020, he scored 17 hundreds.
Joe Root has scored 1162 Test runs so far in 2024 with the help of 5 centuries. This is the fifth time he has scored 1000-plus runs in a calendar year in Test format. Only Sachin Tendulkar – with six years of 1000+ Test runs – betters him in this metric. This is also the third time Joe Root has scored five or more hundred in a calendar year.
Joe Root was involved in three 100-plus partnerships in England innings: for each of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th wickets – this is the 11 instance for an England player to be involved in 3-century stands in the same innings and Root is the second to do so twice, after Alastair Cook.
Joe Root not satisfied yet after setting records on day 3 of PAK vs ENG 2024 1st Test
England’s record-breaking batter Joe Root is determined to add more runs to his tally after becoming the country’s highest run-scorer in the longest format. The former Test skipper said he is single-mindedly focused on winning the Test in Multan.
Joe Root, who enjoyed a prolific home summer, became the leading run-getter for England in Test cricket after overhauling Sir Alastair Cook’s tally of 12472 runs. The right-handed batter is now fifth in the list of top run-scorers in Test cricket.
Speaking after the third day’s play in the first Test against Pakistan, the 33-year-old said he will look back on this feat once he finishes and take pride. However, Root claimed that the prospect of winning the Test excites him a lot more and said, as quoted by BBC sport:
“I’m obviously proud, but still feel there’s plenty more left to do. I’m sure I’ll look back at it when I’m finished and be very proud of it, but I think more than anything just the way we played today as a team is what stands out. We’ve still got an opportunity to win the game, which is really exciting. Hopefully we can kick on tomorrow. Things can happen quite quickly towards the back end of the game. We’ll continue to work hard to take advantage of this great start we’ve got.”
After Pakistan scored 556 in their first innings, England have been comprehensive in their response. The 33-year-old’s 35th century and his unbroken partnership with Harry Brook has helped the visitors whittle the lead down to 64 with seven wickets in the shed.
Sir Alastair Cook believes in Joe Root’s ability and hunger to score more
Alastair Cook underlined that he expects Joe Root to keep his drive and hunger going for the next two years. The former opener told BBC Test Match Special:
“I would be betting on Root to do it. I don’t see Root losing that hunger and ability to keep driving himself forward for the next couple of years. The only slight hurdle in his way will be the Ashes series – there is always something happening around the series. It’s in 14 months’ time and there’s always a story about the damage that happens or doesn’t happen around every Ashes series.”
Joe Root ended the day unbeaten at 176* off 277 runs, as England reached 492/3 in 101 overs at Stumps in their first innings and trail by 64 runs. Harry Brook also remained unbeaten at 141* off 173 deliveries. Brook is the first batter to get tons in four consecutive Tests on Pakistan soil.
Meanwhile, the 243-run partnership between Joe Root and Brook is the highest partnership for England for any wicket on Pakistan soil, overtaking the 233 runs made by Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett for the first wicket in Rawalpindi in 2022. The visitors will be determined to take a lead on day 4 in Multan.