Star England batter Joe Root set two contrasting records while reaching 13,000 Test runs on the opening day of the one-off four-day Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. The Yorkshireman became the slowest player by innings to hit the milestone but also the fastest by number of matches.
Root, who needed 28 runs to get to the landmark, reached it with a single in the 80th over bowled by Victor Nyauchi. He acknowledged the crowd’s applause by raising his bat after becoming the first Englishman to achieve this feat.
Joe Root accomplished the milestone in 153 Tests, surpassing legends like Jacques Kallis (159), Rahul Dravid (160), Ricky Ponting (162), and Sachin Tendulkar (163) in terms of matches played.
However, he took 279 innings, making him the slowest to the mark in that regard—surpassing Dravid (277), Ponting (275), Kallis (269), and Tendulkar (266). With 13,006 career runs, Root is now 2,915 runs short of surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most Test runs ever.
He currently holds fifth place on the all-time Test run-scoring list, with Rahul Dravid’s total just 283 runs ahead. Ahead of the five-match home series against India starting on June 20, Root has a chance to climb to second place on the list, with Ricky Ponting’s tally only 373 runs away.
Joe Root scores 34 as England dominate Zimbabwe on day one in Nottingham
Tall fast bowler Blessing Muzarabani outfoxed Root, who attempted a pull shot off the extra bounce from the right-arm pacer. Sean Williams took an easy catch at fine leg, dismissing the Yorkshire batsman for 34 runs off 44 balls. Earlier, Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine won the toss and chose to field, considering the overcast conditions.
However, Zimbabwe spent a long day bowling as openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett both scored centuries, putting on a 231-run opening partnership. Ollie Pope, unbeaten on 169, added 137 runs with Crawley and 111 with Root. England finished day one at 498/3, the highest first-day total in a Test match on English soil.
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