Joe Root Overtakes Dravid, Tendulkar To Become Fastest Player To Reach 13,000 Test Runs

English batter Joe Root made history on 22 May by becoming the fastest player to reach 13,000 Test runs, surpassing legends like Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. He achieved the milestone in just 153 matches during England’s one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Root, needing 28 runs, reached the landmark with a single off Victor Nyauchi in the 80th over of the Three Lion’s first innings. (As It Happened)

As a result, Root has now broken the record held by South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis, who reached the landmark in 159 matches.

Although he had an underwhelming innings in the Zimbabwe match, scoring just 34 runs off 44 balls before losing his wicket to Blessing Muzarabani, Root became the first English player, and fifth overall, to reach the 13k-landmark.

In a contradiction, Root became the fastest player (in terms of matches) and the slowest player (in terms of innings) among the top five to achieve this feat, as it took the Three Lions player 279 innings to do the same.

Top Five Players To Reach 13,000 Test Runs:

1. Joe Root (England) – 153 matches, 279 innings

2. Jacques Kallis (South Africa) – 159 matches, 269 innings

3. Rahul Dravid (India) – 160 matches, 277 innings

4. Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 162 matches, 275 innings

5. Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 163 matches, 266 innings

One player who might have a regret in not featuring in this iconic list is Virat Kohli, who announced his retirement from Test cricket on 12 May, finishing at 9,230 runs.

Right now, 34-year-old Root is involved in a race against time to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 15,921 runs, which is the highest by any player in Test cricket. Root trails by almost three thousand runs, but has a six-year cushion on the Master Blaster.

He can make significant progress in the upcoming Test series at home against India, against whom he has a phenomenal record. In 10 Tests on Indian soil, Root has scored 952 runs at an average of 50.10, including two centuries.

Overall, he has scored 2,558 runs against India in 26 Tests at an average of 56.84, with nine hundreds, making them his opponent of choice.

As the highest run-scorer in the World Test Championship (WTC), Root will be key for the Three Lions during the high-stakes five-match series, which starts on 20 June.