Joe Root added another glittering chapter to his already legendary career on Saturday at Old Trafford, scoring a sublime century against India, his 12th against them, more than any other player in Test history. The landmark knock also propelled him past Ricky Ponting into second place on the all-time list of Test run-scorers, with only Sachin Tendulkar now ahead.
Root reached his 38th Test century, equaling Kumar Sangakkara, with a trademark tickle around the corner for his 12th boundary. The shot drew a thunderous roar from the Manchester crowd, which immediately morphed into a chorus of “Roooooooooot“ as the England batter embraced teammate Ben Stokes after reaching three figures off his 178th delivery.
It was not without drama. Root survived a run-out scare on 22, and again on 98*, when in the 93rd over, a ball from Mohammed Siraj struck his thigh pad and came perilously close to clipping his leg stump. He weathered a testing spell and spent 18 tense deliveries in the 90s — the nerves more apparent in the crowd than in him.
When the moment arrived, it was pure Root: composed, elegant, inevitable.
With this innings, Root also overtook Steve Smith’s 11 Test hundreds against India, claiming the outright record. He now stands alone with 12, further underscoring his dominance over one of the world’s strongest bowling line-ups.
Perhaps most significantly, Root now has 13,379 Test runs, edging ahead of Australia’s Ricky Ponting (13,378) to become the second-highest run-scorer in Test history. Only India’s Sachin Tendulkar, with a mammoth 15,921, remains ahead.
England now lead by 50 runs, but the day belonged to Joe Root — a masterclass in timing, temperament, and unrelenting excellence.