As the saying goes, records are meant to be broken, and thanks to a few players who are constantly proving this, Virat Kohli, who last year in the ODI World Cup broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most ODI centuries. Now it looks like one more Tendulkar record is going to be shattered. England’s former Test skipper Joe Root, who has been in incredible form with the bat, posted two hundreds in the ongoing Test series against Sri Lanka—centuries in both innings.
He is now leading the chart for the most hundreds by any Englishman (34), surpassing Sir Alastair Cook (33).
Given Root’s current momentum, he could soon start to tickle Tendulkar’s Test hundred record and his world record for Test runs (15,921). So the question is, how far is Root from breaking Tendulkar’s records, and will he be able to sustain his game like Tendulkar did and ultimately break his records?
Sachin Tendulkar vs Joe Root
Sachin Tendulkar, who is one of the most important names in world cricket, has a total of 15,921 runs, which is an unbelievable statistic, along with 51 centuries. Sachin’s last Test hundred came against South Africa during the 2010-11 series. Successfully retired in 2013, and we all are looking for his successors. There has been a lot of talk about the “Fab Four” players, who could become Tendulkar’s successors. While there is no doubt about Virat Kohli’s status in ODIs, there is certainty that Joe Root could break the Master Blaster’s records in Test cricket.
Can Joe Root break Sachin Tendulkar’s record?
With 12,377 runs and 34 centuries, the 33-year-old Joe Root will soon start to close the gap. Currently, Root is 3,544 runs and 17 centuries behind Sachin Tendulkar. Although this gap may seem tricky, but if we see Root in his last 29 Tests has smashed nine centuries and ten half-centuries, giving us a breif that he is the most likely contender to break India’s legend’s Test record.
Previously, there was speculation that England’s Alastair Cook could be the one to breach the 15,000 Test runs mark, but he couldn’t make it.
However, if Root, who now has played 145 games, can manage to stay injury-free, he has many matches ahead of him. If he continues this form over the next two to three years, he could break Tendulkar’s Test hundred record. It will be interesting to see what England’s Test schedule looks like, as it will also play a crucial role in his pursuit.
