Joe Root keeps rewriting Test history, Sachin Tendulkar’s records are under threat

England captain Joe Root moved another step closer to Sachin Tendulkar’s long-standing records in Tests. The England batsman overtook Ricky Ponting to become the highest run-scorer in Test cricket on home soil, adding another major milestone to his remarkable career.

Root needed 13 runs at the start of the match to surpass Ponting’s tally of 7,578 Test runs in Australia. After being dismissed for four in the first innings, Root returned in the second to score 24 off 37 balls, taking him to 7,591 runs in home Tests.

England vs. Pakistan 2nd Test Day 3: Best of London

The milestone came in Root’s 89th Test in England. Ponting scored 7,578 runs in 92 Tests during his international career in Australia.

Root’s latest feat puts him at the top of the list for most Test drives at home. Tendulkar, who has scored 7,216 runs in 94 Tests for India, is third on the list, while Mahela Jayawardene and Jacques Kallis are also among the leading run scorers.

However, the bigger target remains Tendulkar’s record for most Test runs. The former India batsman ended his career with 15,921 runs, while Root is now 1,700 runs away from the mark.

ROOT TEST RUN

Root’s record came during a lean spell with the bat in England’s 2026 domestic season.

The England captain went 10 innings without a century and his best score of the season was 77, which came in the second Test against New Zealand at The Oval.

His second innings against Pakistan also ended without much contribution. Root made 24 before Mohammad Ali trapped him leg before the wicket in the third delivery of the 17th over.

However, Root is approaching another major milestone in international cricket.

He currently has 11,928 international runs in 260 innings in 199 matches on English soil. He needs 72 more runs to reach 12,000 international runs at home, which would make him only the sixth batsman to reach the mark and the first from England.

Tendulkar holds the record in this category as well, having scored 14,192 international runs in 313 innings in 258 matches for India.

Root still has a long way to go before he can challenge Tendulkar’s Test total record. But after surpassing Ponting at Lord’s, another Tendulkar record came next.

– The end

Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

August 30, 2026 1:57 PM IST