Joe Root is now within touching distance of yet another major milestone in his glittering Test career.
On a spicy second day of the fifth Test against India at The Oval on 1 August, the former England captain was dismissed for 29 off 45 balls by Mohammed Siraj but that modest score was enough to carry him past Sachin Tendulkar in terms of most Test runs scored at home.
Root’s career tally in home Tests now stands at 7,224, edging past Tendulkar’s 7,216. Only Ricky Ponting (7,578) has scored more in home conditions, placing Root second on the all-time list.
This achievement follows another milestone Root reached during the fourth Test at Old Trafford, where he leapfrogged Ponting’s overall Test run tally to become the second-highest run-scorer in the format’s history. Only Tendulkar, with his iconic 15,921 runs in 200 matches, remains above him.
After his innings on Friday, Root’s overall Test record stands at 13,438 runs in 158 Tests at an average of 51.09. Ponting, now third on the list, ended his career with 13,378 runs from 168 Tests at 51.85. During his 150-run knock in the fourth Test, Root also moved ahead of Rahul Dravid (13,288) and Jacques Kallis (13,289), before finally overtaking Ponting.
The 34-year-old Root was also involved in a tense exchange on Day 2. He walked in to bat after Zak Crawley fell to the very first ball of the innings and was almost immediately engaged in a verbal battle with Prasidh Krishna. The India pacer chirped at Root through the 22nd over, and after the Englishman guided the final delivery past gully for four, the two exchanged words. Root eventually retaliated, prompting umpire Kumar Dharmasena to intervene with a lengthy discussion involving Prasidh, India captain Shubman Gill, and KL Rahul.
“What, do you want us to be quiet?” Rahul asked Dharmasena, who replied, “Would you like a bowler to talk to you like that? No, you can’t do that.”
When Rahul responded, “What do you want us to do? Just bat and ball and go home?” the umpire retorted firmly, “We’ll discuss that at the end of the match. You can’t talk like that.”