England talismanic batter Joe Root has added another feather to his illustrious cap during the first Test against India at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday, January 25.
Root has surpassed former batting legend Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 2535 runs to become the leading run-getter in Tests between India and England. The 33-year-old achieved the feat when he hit the boundary off Axar Patel's delivery in the 21st over of England's first innings batting.
Most runs in India vs England Tests
Joe Root - 2555*
Sachin Tendulkar - 2535
Sunil Gavaskar - 2348
Sir Alastair Cook - 2431
Virat Kohli - 1991
The Yorkshire-born batter also has joint-record for most runs against India alongside former Australia captain Ricky Ponting, who amassed 2555 runs in 51 innings. Root has a good Test record in India, aggregating 981 runs, including 2 centuries, at an average 49.05 in 11 matches.
Interestingly, Joe Root kicked off his Test career against India in December 2012. Since then, he has been one of the batting mainstays for England. In Tests against India, Root registered 9 centuries and 10 fifties and has a batting average of 62.31 in 46 Tests.
Root played his 100th Test match in India and became the first batter to score a double hundred in a century of Tests in 2021. He scored 218 off 377 balls in the first innings.
In Test Career, Joe Root has aggregated 11445 runs, including 30 centuries and 60 fifties, at an average of 50.19 in 136 matches.
Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow steadied England's batting after quick wickets
England opted to bat first in the opening match of the Test series. The opening pair of Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett provided a good start to visitors innings and built the momentum early on in the first session.
The duo formed a 55-run partnership until Duckett was dismissed by Ravichandran Ashwin for 39. Ollie Pope had a short stay at the crease after he was removed by Ravindra Jadeja for 1 at 58/2. England's batting further collapsed after losing third wicket in Zak Crawley for 20 at 60/3.
After Crawley's wicket, Joe Root was joined by Jonny Bairstow and took charge of visitors innings. The pair took England past 100-run mark after Ashwin and Jadeja triggered a collapse in their batting line-up.
At the end of first session, England posted a total of 108/3 in 28 overs, with Bairstow and Root batting on 32 and 18, respectively.
