England great Joe Root is chasing the tallest feat in Test cricket. He is right after Sachin Tendulkar's record for the most runs in Test cricket and has turned out to be a real threat for it.
Root scaled further ground on Sachin with a masterful hundred in the fifth Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. From not having scored a ton on his previous trips to Australia, Root now has two centuries in a single Ashes.
Root made 160 in the first innings of the Sydney Test and, for the first time, has brought the gap between him and Tendulkar to under 2000 runs in Test cricket.
Coming into the fifth Test, Root had 13777 runs in 162 Test matches and was 2144 runs behind Tendulkar. However, his 160 in the first innings of the final Ashes Test has brought the difference between himself and Tendulkar down to 1984 runs.
Can Root do it?
Root is touted to be the best man to break Tendulkar's record and his insane form in the last few years have made him the favourite to do so. He turned 35 six days ago and seems to have at least a couple of years left in him.
Going by Root's year-on-year record since 2021, the right-handed batter has an average of over 45 every year. During this time, the most runs he scored during a year were in 2021, when he made 1708 runs in 29 innings at an average of 61. He was in brilliant touch in 2024 too, having scored 1556 runs in 31 innings.
Root's year-on-year runs since 2021
2021: 1708 runs in 29 innings
2022: 1098 runs in 27 innings
2023: 787 runs in 14 innings
2024: 1556 runs in 31 innings
2025: 805 runs in 18 innings
2026: 160 runs in 1 inning
How long can it take for Root to get past Sachin?
Root has scored his last 2000 Test runs in 22 matches. Going by this, he can get past Tendulkar in the next 22 Tests. Root's current Test average is of 51.23. If he keeps going at this average, he will be able to break Tendulkar's record within the next 39 innings. His average since January 2021 is even better: 56.09. If he maintains this average, Root can go past Tendulkar within 35 more innings.
Note: This estimate is calculated if Root is dismissed in each of those innings. Averages increase when a player remains not out.
