When Sachin Tendulkar retired from Test cricket, nobody would’ve believed that any player would surpass the great man’s heroic tally of 15,921 runs in the format. But now, there is a guy named Joseph Edward Root, better known as Joe Root, who can eclipse the all-time record. While Root is still over 3,000 runs away, the former England skipper has surpasses the Master Blaster in an incredible feat.
What record did Joe Root break of Sachin Tendulkar?
It is not a secret that Joe Root is currently one of the best Test batters in the world, if not the best. Since January 1, 2020, Root has notched up not one or two but 18 more Test hundreds. It looks like the ‘Bazball’ effect has got him rolling big time. 18 hundreds that are in 61 matches, meaning a triple figure mark every 3.38 game! Incredibly, Root has not touched a century in his last four Tests. Despite this, he surpassed Tendulkar in the list of batters with the most runs in fourth innings in Tests.
Root remained unbeaten at 23 in the opening Test against New Zealand in Christchurch. He built a 49-run stand with debutant Jacob Bethell (50*) and took England to a wonderful win on Sunday, December 1. With this, Root overtook Tendulkar. While Tendulkar made 1,625 runs in the last innings in Tests, Root now has 1,630.
Most runs in 4th innings in Tests ft. Joe Root
| Player | Runs in 4th Innings | Country |
| Joe Root | 1630 | England |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 1625 | India |
| Alastair Cook | 1611 | England |
| Graeme Smith | 1611 | South Africa |
| Shivnarine Chanderpaul | 1580 | West Indies |
Joe Root in Tests (innings wise)
| Innings | Innings | Not Outs | Runs | Highest Score | Average | 100s | 50s | Balls Faced |
| 1st | 81 | 4 | 3882 | 254 | 50.41 | 13 | 14 | 6744 |
| 2nd | 69 | 5 | 3910 | 262 | 61.09 | 12 | 17 | 6635 |
| 3rd | 75 | 4 | 3355 | 180 | 47.25 | 8 | 25 | 5572 |
| 4th | 49 | 10 | 1630 | 142* | 41.79 | 2 | 8 | 3374 |
