England’s star batter Joe Root continued his remarkable Test form by surpassing the iconic Sachin Tendulkar to reach a significant milestone in the format. In the previous match in Manchester, Root had already become the second-highest run-scorer in Test cricket history. During the ongoing fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval, he added yet another accolade to his name.
Root has now gone past Tendulkar in the list of most runs scored by a player in Test matches played on home soil. He entered the Oval Test needing just 22 runs to overtake Tendulkar’s total of 7,216 runs at home. The landmark moment came in the second session on Day 2, when Root struck a boundary off Mohammed Siraj in the 33rd over. Joe Root came in to bat at No. 4 for England in the first innings of the ongoing fifth Test at The Oval and contributed 29 runs off 45 deliveries, striking six elegant boundaries. Despite the modest score, Root etched his name into the record books once again. The right hand batter has scored 432 runs in 5 matches with one innings left at an impressive average of 61.71.
With this, Root now occupies the second spot on the all-time list of most Test runs scored in a player’s home country. The only player ahead of him is former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who has 7,578 runs in Australia from 92 matches.
Most Test Runs at Home:
1. Ricky Ponting – 7,578 runs in 92 Tests
2. Joe Root – 7,229 runs in 84 Tests\*
3. Sachin Tendulkar – 7,216 runs in 94 Tests
4. Mahela Jayawardene – 7,167 runs in 81 Tests
5. Jacques Kallis – 7,035 runs in 88 Tests
On-Field Incident at The Oval
Tensions rose during the same match when Joe Root was involved in a verbal exchange with Indian pacer Prasidh Krishna. After hitting a boundary, Root appeared displeased with something said by Krishna and walked toward him in protest. The situation escalated, prompting intervention from on-field umpires Ahsan Raza and Kumar Dharmasena. KL Rahul later stepped in to defend his teammate, which led to a heated exchange with Dharmasena, adding more drama to Day 2 of the final Test.
