'Absolutely no reason why...': Ricky Ponting's take on Joe Root closing in on Sachin Tendulkar's Test record

Legendary Australia cricketer Ricky Ponting feels that there is 'absolutely no reason' why Joe Root cannot surpass Sachin Tendulkar's record in Test cricket. The England batter overtook the likes of Ponting, Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid with his splendid knock of 150 runs against India in Manchester Test. He is now the second-highest run-scorer in the format with 13,409 runs under his belt and is only behind the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who sits on top with 15,921 runs.

The crowd present at Old Trafford gave Root a standing ovation once he surpassed Ponting's tally of 13,378 runs on the third day of Manchester Test. Though Root is still over 2,000 runs behind Tendulkar's record, Ponting believes that the England batter will surpass the Indian great if he continues his blistering form in red-ball cricket.

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"Congratulations Joe Root. A magnificent moment in history. Second on the table. Just the one more to go now. About two-and-a-half-thousand runs behind, but the way his career's gone over the last four or five years there's absolutely no reason why (he cannot be number one)," Ponting said on Sky Sports.

Ponting also heaped praise on Root's 'hunger and desire' which helps him to keep on improving and get better.

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"He still has that hunger and desire to continue to find ways to improve and get better. Trust me, that doesn't get easier the older you get," Ponting added.

Both Root and Stokes scored centuries against India at Old Trafford

Meanwhile, both Root and Ben Stokes scored fantastic centuries against India in Manchester Test and played massive roles in taking England's total to 669 runs in their first innings. The Indian bowling attack proved to completely ineffective against the England batters, who absolutely dominated and got their side a 311-run lead.

In reply, India lost both Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sai Sudharsan for ducks and got restricted to 0/2 at one stage. However, the duo of KL Rahul and Shubman Gill batted incredibly well and ensured that the side didn't mlose any more wickets for the rest of the day. Thanks to their unbeaten partnership of 174, the visitors managed to wrap up the day on a psoitive note and will be beginning the fifth day trailing the hosts by 137 runs. It will be interesting to see in what direction the match will head to on the final day.