Joe Root is very near to making history and will have a few massive records to break during the ENG vs IND 4th Test.
The fourth test between England and India is underway at Old Trafford in Manchester. Ben Stokes won the toss and put India to bat first. England made one change, while India had three forced changes due to injury. Both teams need this win with different aims.
But one man who will be eyeing to make history is Joe Root. This has been a mixed series for the former English captain, where he has some mixed performances.
He slammed a century in the first innings of the Lord's Test and looked good. Root will have a chance to break multiple records during the ongoing Test, which we will talk about here below.
ENG vs IND 4th Test: Joe Root is on verge of breaking several All-time records in Manchester
1. 1st Batter with 1000 Test runs at Old Trafford
Joe Root has a tremendous record across all English venues. He is also leading the scoring chart at the Emirates Old Trafford. Root has played 12 games (including the ongoing test) here and scored 978 runs at an average of 65.20. He has one century and seven half-centuries. Root needs 22 more runs to become the first player with 1000 runs in tests at Old Trafford.
2. 1st Batter with 6000 WTC runs
In the last 5-6 years, Joe Root has been top of the charts in run-scoring in Tests. He is the leading run scorer in the history of the World Test Championship (WTC). Root has scored 5796 runs in 68 tests at 51.75 with 19 centuries and 22 fifties. Steve Smith is at second spot with 4278 runs. Root loves playing at Old Trafford. If they can have a good game and score 204 runs, then he will become the first batter with 6000 runs in WTC history.
3. Most 50s in Tests
Joe Root has a total of 66 half-centuries in Test cricket, which is the second-most in history, along with Shivnarine Chanderpaul. The record for most Test 50s is with Sachin Tendulkar (68). But two good innings can help Root get close to the legendary Indian batter. If Root can manage a fifty each in two innings, he will equal Sachin's all-time record.
4. Most Test 100s vs IND
With the hundred in the last test, Root equaled Australia's Steve Smith with the joint-most test 100s against Team India. Both batters now have 11 test centuries each against the Indian side. But one more century for Root in Manchester will put them at the top of the chart. He will have most test 100s against India then.
5. Most Test Runs
Root's success as a test batter has been incredible. He has been the top test batter for this ongoing decade. That helped him to move up in the all-time run-scorers list in test cricket. He is currently sitting at fifth place with 13259 runs in 157* tests. That is where he eyes a massive feat. If Root can manage 112 more runs, he will become the second-highest run-scorer in tests, going past Ricky Ponting (13,378), Jacques Kallis (13,289), and Rahul Dravid (13,288).