File photo of Joe Root© AFP
England's vibrant batter Joe Root took a step closer to matching Sachin Tendulkar's elusive record for 1000-plus Test runs in most calendar years. After Pakistan slammed a mammoth 556-run total on the back of centuries from Salman Ali Agha (104*), Abdullah Shafique (102) and skipper Shan Masood (151). Root stepped up to steady visitors ship after England lost stand-in skipper Ollie Pope to Naseem Shah early in the first innings. He approached each delivery that came his way with caution to ensure that England didn't lose further wickets after losing Pope.
While exercising caution, Root heavily relied on rotating the strike, found the boundary rope twice and walked back unbeaten with a score of 32(54).
Root, who has been tipped to go past Sachin's tally in red-ball cricket, returned to the dressing room after crossing 1,000 Test runs in 2024. This was the fifth calendar year when the 33-year-old managed to cross the 1,000-run mark in Test cricket.
He just needs to put up another calendar year where he hits the 1,000 Test runs mark to go level with 'Master Blaster' Sachin Tendulkar.
Sachin currently sits at the summit with a whopping tally of six calendar years in which he garnered 1000-plus Test runs.
With a tally of five, Root is now level with cricket icons Brian Lara, Matthew Hayden, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara and Alastair Cook for scoring 1000-plus Test runs in most calendar years.
Zak Crawley, on the other hand, played the role of aggressor with his run-a-ball 64*. His rollicking performance, which saw him smack 11 fours, forced Pakistan bowlers to toil hard in their hunt for a wicket.
The duo forged an unbeaten 92-run stand of 112 deliveries as England pushed to chase down Pakistan's challenging total. England ended the day with a score of 96/1, trailing Pakistan by 460 runs.