Joe Root scored a century on Day 2 of the fifth and final Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. This was his second Test century in Australia and his 41st Test hundred overall. England have already lost the Ashes series to Australia.
With this century, Root has matched Ricky Ponting for the third-most Test centuries. Root reached 41 centuries in his 163rd Test, while Ponting finished with 41 centuries in 168 matches and 13,378 runs. Only Sachin Tendulkar and Jacques Kallis are now ahead of Root in Test centuries.
Root has already scored more Test runs than Ponting and Kumar Sangakkara. Sangakkara still has more centuries with 45, while Tendulkar leads with 51 centuries. Root is now close to 2,000 runs behind Sachin and could become the highest run-scorer in Test cricket in the future.
Root scored his century off Michael Neser on the first ball of the 60th over. He became only the fourth England batter to score more than one century in an away Ashes series. The others are Michael Vaughan and Sir Alastair Cook.
Since 2021, Root has scored 24 Test centuries, the most by any batter in this period. The next best is Steve Smith with 10 centuries.
England’s batting improved in this match after struggling earlier in the series. Root shared a 169-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Harry Brook. Brook was out for 84, missing his century, after being dismissed by Scott Boland.
Ben Stokes won the toss and chose to bat. England won the Melbourne Test by four wickets, their first Test win in Australia in 14 years. The Melbourne pitch was rated “not satisfactory” by the ICC after the match ended in two days.
Joe Root closes in on Sachin Tendulkar’s all-time Test run record after Sydney century
Root scored his second century in Australia on Day 2 of the Sydney Test. If Root scores 71 more runs in this test, he will become only the second player in the world to reach 14,000 Test runs. At present, Tendulkar is the only cricketer with more than 14,000 Test runs.
Root has scored 13,929 Test runs so far. He is more than 1,991 runs behind Tendulkar’s record of 15,921 runs. Root has also had tough moments in Sydney before. He was dropped there in 2013–14 and retired hurt in 2018 due to illness in extreme heat.
Before this series, Root had played 14 Tests in Australia without a century. This was seen as a big gap in his career. Even though he averaged over 50 in tests and was England’s top run-scorer, Lehmann earlier said Root was below players like Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma because he had not scored hundreds in Australia.
Root finally ended that wait in Brisbane with a score of 138. He then scored another century in the final Test in Sydney, reaching it in 146 balls. This was his 41st Test century in his 163rd match. He is now level with Ricky and behind only Sachin Tendulkar and Jacques Kallis.
Since 2021, Root has scored 24 Test centuries in 66 matches. This alone places him among England’s top players in Test history. Lehmann said that after scoring hundreds in Australia, Root could break more records and pass Tendulkar.
Root turned 35 on December 30 and has said he is not thinking about retiring soon. He hopes to play at least until the 2027 World Cup. Tendulkar played his last Test at the age of 40.
England made one change for the final Test, bringing in Matthew Potts for the injured Gus Atkinson. Australia also made one change, with Beau Webster replacing Jhye Richardson.
FAQs
Q. Who is the only player with more than 14,000 Test runs?
A. Sachin Tendulkar is the only cricketer with more than 14,000 Test runs.
Q. How many Test centuries does Root have now?
A. Joe Root has 41 Test centuries from 163 matches.
Q. Who did Joe Root equal with his 41st Test century?
A. Root equaled Ricky Ponting, who also finished with 41 Test centuries.
Q. At what age did Sachin Tendulkar play his last Test?
A. Sachin Tendulkar played his final Test at the age of 40.
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