Pakistan vs England Test: Former England captain Joe Root smashed his 35th Test century in the ongoing first Test against Pakistan. The 33-year-old batter reached this milestone on the second ball of the 63rd over. With this century, Joe Root has left behind legendary Sunil Gavaskar, Brian Lara, Mahela Jayawardene and Younis Khan. All these batters had scored a total of 34 centuries in Test cricket. He is currently the sixth batter to smash most centuries in the longest format of the game.
Sachin Tendulkar leads the chart of most Test centuries with 51 Test tons. South Africa's Jacques Kallis is second on this list. Kallis has scored a total of 45 centuries. He is followed by Ricky Ponting who has scored a total of 41 centuries. Apart from this, Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara is at the fourth spot with 38 centuries and then the next is Rahul Dravid who has scored a total of 36 centuries.
Batters with most centuries in Tests
Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 51
Jacques Kallis (South Africa) – 45
Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 41
Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka) – 38
Rahul Dravid (India) – 36
Joe Root (England) – 35
Younis Khan (Pakistan) – 34
Sunil Gavaskar (India) – 34
Brian Lara (West Indies) – 34
Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) – 34
By scoring a century in the first innings against Pakistan, he has also equalled the record of Sri Lankan batsman Kamindu Mendis. Kamindu has scored 5 consecutive Test centuries in the year 2024. Apart from this, England's Ollie Pope, Shubman Gill, and Kane Williamson have scored three centuries so far.
Batters scoring most centuries in the year 2024
Joe Root (England) – 5
Kamindu Mendis (Sri Lanka) – 5
Kane Williamson (New Zealand) – 3
Shubman Gill (India) – 3
Ollie Pope (England) – 3
Earlier, Root broke the record of England's legendary batter Alastair Cook and became the highest run-scorer in Tests. Cook has scored a total of 12,472 runs in 161 Tests. Root has scored a total of 12,502 runs in 147 Tests.
Most runs in Tests for England
Joe Root – 12,502*
Alastair Cook – 12,472
Graham Gooch – 8900
Alec Stewart – 8463
David Gower – 8231
