Joe Root dominates, surpassing Alastair Cook to become England’s all-time leading Test run-scorer. Marking the milestone with an unbeaten century against Pakistan in the first Test in Multan on Wednesday.
Root’s knock guided England to a formidable 492-3.
At 33, Root overtook Cook’s 12,472-run record, climbing to fifth on the list of all-time top Test run scorers. His defining moment came just before lunch, when he drove Aamer Jamal for a boundary to reach 71 runs.
Root closed the day on 176. Harry Brook supporting on 141 not out, as the duo reduced Pakistan’s first innings lead to 64 runs.
Root and Brook added a 243-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Root’s remarkable 481-minute stand included 12 boundaries, while Brook matched him with as many fours and added a six despite battling cramps.
.By the close of the second session, he was unbeaten on 119. Brook, brought up his 10th Test half-century and reached 64 not out. England close the gap on Pakistan’s total of 556.
The partnership between Root and Brook, now worth 102 runs, has frustrated Pakistan’s bowlers on a lifeless surface.
Root also shared a vital 136-run stand for the third wicket with Ben Duckett, who contributed a commanding 84, despite dislocating his thumb on Tuesday. Duckett eventually fell lbw to Jamal after hitting 11 boundaries.
Earlier, Root and Zak Crawley added 109 runs for the second wicket. Crawley, who struck 13 fours in his 78 off 85 balls, was dismissed in the fourth over of the third morning, flicking a Shaheen Afridi delivery to Jamal at mid-wicket. Duckett’s aggressive half-century off 45 balls then allowed Root to accumulate steadily at the other end.
Root reached his 65th Test fifty off 76 balls before breaking Cook’s record, receiving a standing ovation from the few England fans in attendance. Alastair Cook himself, now a commentator, predicted that Root could one day surpass Sachin Tendulkar’s all-time record of 15,921 Test runs.
“I think he could go past Sachin Tendulkar’s record,” Cook said during BBC’s coverage. “Root has that relentless drive to keep pushing himself.”