While England are battling in The Oval Test against New Zealand, as the stand-in captain Joe Root is fighting hard in the record-breaking fourth innings chase of 463 runs, the English right-handed batter created new history. The legendary batter becomes the only second batter in Test cricket history to reach the 14,000 Test runs milestone.
Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was the first batter to record 14,000 Test runs, when India were playing the 2010 Bengaluru Test against Australia. It was his 171st Test match and 279th Test innings when the right-handed batter completed 14,000 Test runs. While Sachin ended his Test career in November 2013, he ended his Test career with the score of 15,921 runs.
Meanwhile, in his 165th Test match and 302nd Test innings, Joe Root completed 14,000 Test runs. Before the beginning of the Test match, Root was 48 runs away from reaching this incredible milestone. While he scored 46 runs during England’s first innings, the right-handed batter needed to score two more runs in the fourth innings of the match to complete his 14,000 Test runs.
While New Zealand set the 463-run fourth innings target for the hosts England, who are leading the three-match Test series by 1-0 before the end of the ongoing second Test, Root completed his 14,000 Test runs when he scored his second run with a single. At the stumps of the fourth day, England were struggling at 182/5, while Root was batting at 75 not out, taking his Test career runs tally to 14,073 runs.
Top 5 leading run-scorers in Test cricket
Sachin Tendulkar (India): 15,921 runs
Joe Root (England): 14,073 runs*
Ricky Ponting (Australia): 13,378 runs
Jacques Kallis (South Africa/ICC World XI): 13,289 runs
Rahul Dravid (India/ICC World XI): 13,288 runs
(*Joe Root is still active in international cricket).
