Joe Root challenges Sachin Tendulkar's immortality, just 492 away from becoming Test cricket's second-highest run-scorer

With a magnificent century in the second Test against New Zealand, Joe Root has taken his Test tally to 12886 runs in 151 matches.

England's talismanic batter Joe Root is making the right progress to challenge the greatness of Sachin Tendulkar in Test cricket. The Englishman has been enjoying the peak of his career and ruling Test cricket with runs all across the globe. Root marched ahead of his contemporaries in the Fab Four - Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, and Kane Williamson- as he had now set the target on none other than the Master Blaster's back. With a magnificent century in the second Test against New Zealand, Root has taken his Test tally to 12,886 runs in 151 matches and is currently placed fifth in most runs tally. There is not a big gap between him and number 2 - Ricky Ponting - 492 runs; considering the pace he has been scoring runs in recent times, the former England captain might eclipse it soon.

Joe Root is considered a prime candidate to surpass Sachin Tendulkar's record.

Player	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	SR	100	50
Sachin Tendulkar	200	329	33	15921	248*	53.78	54.04	51	68
Ricky Ponting	168	287	29	13378	257	51.85	58.72	41	62
Jacques Kallis	166	280	40	13289	224	55.37	45.97	45	58
Rahul Dravid	164	286	32	13288	270	52.31	42.51	36	63
Joe Root	151	276	23	12886	262	50.93	57.37	36	64

Root is the only active player in the top 10 highest Test run-scorers' tally, which gave him a fair advantage over the likes of Smith, Kohli and Williamson, to dethrone Tendulkar's tally of 15921 runs.

Joe Root frontrunner to surpass Sachin Tendulkar's tally

The English batter hit his peak in the post-COVID era and became a force to reckon with for England. Handing over the captaincy to Ben Stokes also helped him focus more on his batting.

Since the start of 2021, he has scored 5063 runs in 54 Tests at an astonishing average of 56.25, including 19 centuries. He made the necessary adjustments to his batting and added flair to it, which made him the best in the business.

Former England cricketers, including Alastair Cook and Michael Vaughan, have often backed Root to break Tendulkar's record of most runs in Test cricket. Tendulkar scored 15,921 runs at an average of 53.78 in 200 Test matches between 1989 and 2013. He is the only player to have scored more than 50 centuries in the format, retiring with 51 tons and 68 half-centuries.