It says much about Root that this fourth Test against India is not alone in being a match that has been completely overshadowed by his pursuit of history.
Sir Alastair Cook and Eoin Morgan are the two big beasts of English cricket he wrestled those records from.
"One more to go" Joe Root overtakes Ricky Ponting to become the second-highest run-scorer in Test cricket pic.twitter.com/stzTnTvCGk
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 25, 2025The Yorkshireman had started the day fifth on the all-time list of Test runscorers. But as he found his rhythm to lay the foundations for his country’s mammoth first-innings total, he moved past another India legend in Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis, South Africa’s greatest all-rounder, to leave just Ricky Ponting and Tendulkar ahead of him.
One push down to backward point off the bowling of debutant Anshul Kamboj was all it took for Root to notch his 13,379th Test run and move past the former Australia captain.
“Congratulations Joe Root,” he said on commentary. “Magnificent. Second on the table. Just the one more to go now.
Highest Test run-scorers
Sachin Tendulkar (1989-2013) – Matches: 200, Innings: 329, Runs: 15,921
Joe Root (2012-2025) – Matches: 157, Innings: 286, Runs: 13,409
Ricky Ponting (1995-2012) – Matches: 168, Innings: 287, Runs: 13,378
Jacques Kallis (1995-2013) – Matches: 166, Innings: 280, Runs: 13,289
Rahul Dravid (1996-2012) – Matches: 164, Innings: 286, Runs: 13,288
Alastair Cook (2006-2018) – Matches: 161, Innings: 291, Runs: 12,472
Kumar Sangakkara (2000-2015) – Matches: 134, Innings: 233, Runs: 12,400
Brian Lara (1990-2006) – Matches: 131, Innings: 232, Runs: 11,953
Ben Stokes, who gave everybody a scare when he retired hurt on 66 during the evening session, had already given his verdict on Root before the match.
Root has refocussed ruthlessly since playing the reverse ramp to Jasprit Bumrah in Rajkot back in February of last year that sparked an avalanche of criticism and a catastrophic 434-run defeat for his team when the series had been tied at 1-1 heading into that third Test.
Since then, he has dialled back on the aggression and just batted the way he always has, with his strike-rate going down from 69.92 to 62.02 and his Bazball average climbing from 52.63 to 66.06.
The moment Ricky Ponting called Joe Root eclipsing his Test match runs tally in the Old Trafford commentary box! pic.twitter.com/u4NPNsD8m1
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 25, 2025The good news is there’s an Ashes tour this winter, where Root will have five Tests to remove that anomaly from his record.
The same goes for his pursuit of Tendulkar. Root’s numbers over the past few years are not just exceptional, they are almost unparalleled in the modern game.
For context, that’s as many centuries as 2010-11 Ashes-winning captain Andrew Strauss scored in his 100 Tests and more than fellow England greats Graham Gooch, David Gower, Ken Barrington and Len Hutton managed in their entire careers.
Root’s masterful innings featured 14 4s (Photo: Getty)But if Root maintains the trajectory he has been on over the past couple of years, he would need around 25 to 30 Tests to overtake Tendulkar. That would take him into 2028, when he would be 37.
Yet if the prospect of catching Sachin is tantalisingly close, he might just be persuaded to carry on.
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