Joe Root creates HISTORY, becomes first batter to reach THIS milestone in WTC history, even Virat Kohli hasn’t got close

New Delhi: Joe Root, the star batter for the England cricket team, reached a significant milestone on Day 2 of the first Test match against Pakistan in Multan. Root became the first player to score 5000 runs in the World Test Championship (WTC). He accomplished this by scoring 32 off 54 balls, including two boundaries. Needing just 27 runs to reach the landmark before the match, Root’s tally now stands at 5005 runs across 59 WTC matches. Following him are Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne with 3904 runs and Steve Smith in third place with 3484 runs.

Joe Root is on the verge of another major milestone during the ongoing Test match, as he is just 39 runs away from surpassing Alastair Cook to become England’s all-time leading run-scorer in Test cricket. Achieving this feat would further solidify Root’s status as one of the greatest batters in England’s cricket history.

Meanwhile, Joe Root edged closer to the astonishing record of Sachin Tendulkar who broke 1000 or more Test runs in a calendar year on six occasions during his career in cricketing history. Tendulkar achieved that incredible feat six times during his glorious career and now Joe Root, inching toward that milestone, underlines his consistency and longevity in the game’s longest format.

After Pakistan posted a formidable total of 556 runs, powered by centuries from Salman Ali Agha (104*), Abdullah Shafique (102), and captain Shan Masood (151), Joe Root took charge to stabilize England’s innings. Following the early loss of stand-in skipper Ollie Pope to Naseem Shah, Root played a cautious and composed innings, carefully navigating each delivery to prevent further setbacks for England. His steady presence at the crease helped to anchor the visitors’ batting effort as they sought to recover from the early blow.

While maintaining a cautious approach, Joe Root focused on rotating the strike, keeping the scoreboard ticking. He managed to find the boundary twice and finished the day unbeaten with a steady 32 off 54 deliveries. His composed innings helped England stabilize after an early setback, setting a platform for the team to build on in their response to Pakistan’s imposing total.

Root, who is considered a strong contender to surpass Sachin Tendulkar’s run tally in red-ball cricket, returned to the dressing room after reaching 1,000 Test runs in 2024. This achievement marks the fifth time the 33-year-old has crossed the 1,000-run mark in a calendar year in Test cricket, further solidifying his status as one of the most consistent and prolific run-scorers in the modern game.

Root now needs just one more calendar year where he scores 1,000 Test runs to equal the ‘Master Blaster’ Sachin Tendulkar’s record of achieving this feat in six different years. Matching this milestone would place Root alongside one of the game’s greatest, further cementing his legacy in Test cricket.

Sachin Tendulkar currently holds the record with an impressive tally of six calendar years in which he amassed 1,000-plus Test runs. Joe Root, with five such years to his name, has now joined an elite group of batters, including Brian Lara, Matthew Hayden, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, and Alastair Cook, who have also achieved this milestone in five calendar years. Root’s next 1,000-run year would see him match Tendulkar’s record, further highlighting his consistency and skill in the longest format of the game.