Joe Root on Wednesday became England's all-time leading run-scorer in Test cricket.© England Cricket
Joe Root on Wednesday became England's all-time leading run-scorer in Test cricket. He did so during Day 3 of the ongoing 1st Test against Pakistan at the Multan Cricket Stadium. By doing so, Root overtook former England captain and his teammate Alastair Cook's tally of 12,472 runs. The 33-year-old is now fifth in the list of batters with most runs in Test cricket. The all-time list is headed by India batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar with 15,921 run from 200 Tests.
In the opening session of Day 3, Root drove Pakistan seamer Aamer Jamal for a straight boundary to reach the 71 he needed to surpass Cook.
As Root achieved the feat he was applauded by a handful of England fans at Multan stadium as well as his team-mates in the dressing room.
It took Root 268 innings and 147 Tests to pass the record of his former captain Cook, who achieved his tally in 161 Tests in a glorious career that ended in 2018.
Root, who made his Test debut in 2012, went to the lunch interval 72 not out with his record standing at 12,474 runs and counting.
Last month, Root also surpassed Cook to become England's most decorated batter, when it comes to scoring centuries.
Root had 34 Test centuries to his name before the start of the Multan Test. This list is also led by Tendulkar, who retired from the sport in 2013 with 100 internatioanal tons, including 49 in Tests.
On Day 2, Root became the first batter in history to score 5000 runs in the World Test Championship (WTC). Root came into the match needing 27 runs to achieve the huge feat and he now has 5005 runs in 59 matches. Australia's Marnus Labuschagne is second with 3904 runs while his compatriot Steve Smith occupies the third spot with 3484 runs.
(With AFP Inputs)