Joe Root celebrates century in SCG Test against Australia (Source: AFP)
England’s modern-day batting great, Joe Root, headlined the first and second day of the ongoing Ashes finale against Australia. Joe Root has narrowed the gap with the former legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar in the list of leading run-scorers in Tests.
Meanwhile, he has also equalled former Aussie great Ricky Ponting among the batters with the most Test centuries. Root achieved this milestone with his 41st Test ton, which he smashed on the second day of the ongoing SCG Test against Australia.
Joe Root closes the distance with batting immortality
In his 160-run knock against Australia, the classy England batter has narrowed the gap with Sachin Tendulkar, the leading Test run-scorer of all time. Now, the margin between Sachin’s 15,921 Test runs and Joe Root’s 13,937 is just 1,996, i.e., within 2000 runs only.
Apart from getting close to Tendulkar’s Test runs, Root is just 10 centuries away from the former’s record of 51 Test tons, the most by any batter in Test history. He is currently in the second spot among the leading Test run-scorers, alongside joining Ricky Ponting, in the list of players with the most Test tons.
Joe Root has also improved his batting numbers at the Sydney Cricket Ground, with his 41st Test hundred in the Ashes finale against Australia. The right-hander scored his first century at SCG in the fifth innings since he played his first game at this venue eight years ago in 2018.
He now has 325 runs in five innings, with an average of 81.25, hitting a century and two half-centuries at the SCG.
Joe Root's ton stabilizes England after early blows in Ashes finale
The 35-year-old came into the middle for his side in the SCG Test when they had scored just 51 runs, losing two wickets in the first innings. However, losing Jacob Bethell within a span of just six runs left England in trouble in the first innings.
It was the much-needed partnership of 169 runs for the fourth wicket between Joe Root and Harry Brook that stabilized the visitors after an early shake-up on the first day. Brook also contributed with an 84-run knock off 97 balls, with six fours and a six, followed by wicketkeeper-batter Jamie Smith’s 76-ball 46 and Will Jacks’ 27-run knock.
On the back of these contributions, England managed to post a total of 384 runs before getting bundled out in the first innings. At the time of writing this article, Australia have scored 92 runs for the loss of a wicket in Jake Weatherald (21) off England skipper Ben Stokes. Travis Head (51) and Marnus Labuschagne (17) are there in the middle for the hosts.
Speaking of the current scoreline of the Ashes 2025-26, the Aussies are leading the five-match series by a 3-1 margin, with three successive wins in the first three Tests. England registered their only win in the series with four-wicket success against Australia in the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground.
