On Saturday, July 27, Joe Root’s run total in Test cricket eclipsed that of the legendary Brian Lara. In the opening session of Day 2 of the third Test match between England and the West Indies in Birmingham, the right-handed hitter pulled off the incredible feat.
Lara, a former captain of the West Indies, concluded his remarkable career as an international player with 11,953 Test runs from 131 games and 232 innings. In his 261st innings, and in his 143rd Test match, Joe Root has overcome the southpaw.
In the longest format of the game, the former England captain has risen to No. 7 on the list of top run scorers. He is now trailing Kumar Sangakkara, Alastair Cook, Jacques Kallis, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, and Ricky Ponting.
With two runs from four balls in the overnight score, Root got Day 2 underway. It took him twelve runs to surpass Lara’s record. With Jayden Seales bowling the final ball of the sixth over of the day, he accomplished the feat.
Joe Root tops the England run-scorer chart at Edgbaston as the Tests continue to unravel. On Day 2, Root was at the top once more. He surpassed Cook’s record of 869 runs at Edgbaston to take the lead in runs scored in Test matches at the storied location. This accomplishment was accomplished by the 33-year-old in the 21st over of the day.
The West Indies chose to bat first after winning the toss on the first day. They managed to recover from a dire situation at 115/5, but were bowled out for 282. With their brief burst with the ball, the foreigners performed admirably, taking three English wickets for 38 runs.
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With a bounce in their step, Kraigg Brathwaite’s team dismissed Ollie Pope and Harry Brook in the third and fourth overs of the day, respectively, to start Day 2. But captain Ben Stokes came in the middle to join Root, and the two cobbled together a half-century partnership as well as raising England’s score to 100. The home crowd will be hoping that the two seasoned players bat late into the day to get the Three Lions closer to the first innings total of the West Indies.
India
