ENG vs SL: Former England cricketer David Lloyd has backed Joe Root to break Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most runs in Test cricket. The ‘unstoppable’ Joe Root created history after he scored his second hundred of the ongoing Lord’s Test against Sri Lanka. Root scored 103 in the second innings to take his tally of centuries to 34 and surpass Alastair Cook to become England’s leading century-maker in Test matches.
Root has 12,377 runs to his name in Test cricket and has a realistic chance of breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most runs in Test cricket. The Indian legend scored 15,921 runs in 200 Test matches and Root needs 3544 runs to go past Tendulkar.
“With the amount of Test cricket England play, and the skill he has, there’s every chance he’ll overtake Sachin Tendulkar’s world-record 15,921 runs,” wrote David Lloyd in his coloum.
Root’s hundred helped England score 251 in the second innings and set Sri Lanka a target of 483 to win the second Test.
Meanwhile, Alastair Cook got emotional after Root surpassed him to become England’s leading century maker in Tests. Cook lavished praise on Root and called the former captain England’s greatest Test batter.
“He is quite simply England’s greatest, and it’s right that he should have this record, on his own. We are watching a genius,” commented Alastair Cook on BBC.
“I don’t think there’s a batsman that I can remember watching play…the sense of inevitability about scoring runs that Joe Root gives off. I called it when he was on about 6 today, that he was going to get 100. I know he’s in great form, but it’s just a pleasure to watch a master, a craftsman at work,” he added.
Cook recalled the time when he first saw Joe Root play for England and said he knew Root would achieve some stellar feats for England.
“The game was in the balance and he walked out to bat with his England cap on, looking 13, massive smile on his face. I watched his first few balls, and I was like, ‘This bloke is here to stay.’ I honestly said, ‘He’s scoring 10,000 runs.’ I don’t know who I said it to, but I know that I said it,” he said.