England captain Joe Root continues his stellar year with the bat in Tests, as he went past India's legendary batters Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar for a massive feat on Saturday. Root, playing in the second Ashes Test in Adelaide, went past their respective records during Day 3 of the pink-ball match.
The England Test captain had already created the English record for most runs in the calendar year in the longest format, surpassing Michael Vaughan's record in 2002 when he scored 1,481 runs. On Day 3, the English batter also went past Sunil Gavaskar (1,555 runs in 1979) and Sachin Tendulkar's (1,562 runs in 2010) records for the same.
After going past Tendulkar, Joe Root currently stands at fifth position among players with most Test runs in a year.
During his second innings against Australia in the first Test, he had also gone past former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, former Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara, and current Australia head coach Justin Langer's highest runs in a calendar year, in addition to making the English record.
The English batter has been in tremendous form this year; he ended up as the highest run-getter in the four-match Test series against India in India (where he also scored a double-century), and repeated the feat in the home series in August-September. He scored six centuries (including two double-tons) and currently has an average of 65 in Tests in 2021.
Pakistan's Mohammad Yousuf currently holds the record for most Test runs in a calendar year (1,788 runs in 11 matches; 2006), followed by West Indies great Vivian Richards (1,710 in 11 matches; 1976).
{{/usCountry}}Pakistan's Mohammad Yousuf currently holds the record for most Test runs in a calendar year (1,788 runs in 11 matches; 2006), followed by West Indies great Vivian Richards (1,710 in 11 matches; 1976).
{{/usCountry}}Following the current innings, Joe Root has a maximum of three innings available for the remainder of the year to surpass Yousuf's record. After the second Test, England will take on Australia in Melbourne for the Boxing Day Test, scheduled between 26-30 December.
The visitors are currently trailing the five-match series 0-1, having conceded a heavy nine-wicket defeat in the first game in Brisbane.