England’s star batter Joe Root joined Pakistan’s great Younis Khan in the list of batters with the most centuries in Test cricket.
Root, who is enjoying a purple patch with the bat in red-ball cricket, scored another hundred in the ongoing second home Test against Sri Lanka, taking his centuries tally to 34.
With his 34th century, Joe Root came level with legends of the game including Pakistan’s Younis Khan, India’s Sunil Gavaskar, Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene and West Indies’ Brian Lara.
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Earlier in the first innings, Root played a marathon 143-run knock which featured 18 boundaries.
He scored 103 as England bowled out on 251 in the second innings, setting Sri Lanka a 483-run target.
India’s batting great Sachin Tendulkar (51) scored the most number of centuries in Test cricket, followed by Jacques Kallis (45), Ricky Ponting (41), Kumar Sangakkara (38) and Rahul Dravid (36).
Most Hundreds in Test Cricket
Sachin Tendulkar: 51
Jacques Kallis: 45
Ricky Ponting: 41
Kumar Sangakkara: 38
Rahul Dravid: 36
Joe Root: 34*
Sunil Gavaskar: 34
Mahela Jayawardene: 34
Brian Lara: 34
Younis Khan: 34
Alastair Cook: 33
He also became the all-time leading century-scorer for England in Tests, going past former captain Alastair Cook.
The right-handed batter achieved the milestone in England’s first innings of the second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s.
Root immediately pointed to the sky after reaching three figures in a gesture in memory of former England batter and assistant coach Graham Thorpe, who died aged 55 earlier this month after taking his own life.
Joe Root, who recently amassed 12,000 runs in Test cricket to become the seventh-highest run-scorer of all time, has second-placed Ponting and Tendulkar’s overall record within sight.
Notably, no active player has as many hundreds as Root.
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