File photo of Joe Root© AFP
Trailing five games 1-2, England defeated India in the rescheduled fifth Test at Birmingham’s Edgbaston. Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow struck for centuries as England chased a record 378 to level the series 2-2. While Bairstow has been on top form lately, hitting tons in both innings, Root picked up where he left off last year before the final test was postponed. With fifty four centuries to his name, the former English skipper finished the series as top scorer with 737 runs. Former Indian batsman Wasim Jaffer thinks that if Root continues to play test cricket at this level for the next five to six years, he might break Sachin Tendulkar’s record as the all-time go-getter in test cricket.
“He can do it if he plays that long. He’s only 31 years old. We all know that the careers of English and Australian players are not long. But if he plays another 5-6 years, I feel he will be able to break the record,” Jaffer said while interacting on ESPNcricinfo.
The 31-year-old currently ranks 12th in all-time scorecards in Tests with 10,458 runs in 121 Tests.
Root had recently joined the 10,000-run club during the three-game series against New Zealand. He hit two centuries in that game and followed it up with his second-innings ton in Edgbaston.
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Tendulkar, on the other hand, scored 15,921 test runs during his 24-year illustrious career.
England and India now face each other for the three-match T20I series with the first game on Thursday at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.
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