Former English skipper Joe Root joined elite company of the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and more after being only the fourth batter in the history of Test cricket to score 8000 runs while batting at No. 4. This notable accomplishment was brought up by Root during the third Test of the ongoing five-match series between England and India.
Only three batters have scored as many and more at the aforementioned batting position; Tendulkar, Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka), and Jacques Kallis (South Africa). Root registered scores of 104 off 199 and 40 off 96 during England’s first and second innings, respectively.
Up until now, Root has batted the most at No. 4 in his nearly 13-year-long red-ball career. He has batted at that position in 99 Tests (170 innings), scoring 37 fifties and 25 hundreds. The 34-year-old top-order batter has made a monumental career out of batting and has become synonymous with the No. 4 batter for England over the years.
Speaking of the current game at Lord’s, England are in a desperate position as far as their fate in the game goes. At the time of writing, they were bowled out for 192 in 62.1 overs in their second innings. Root’s 96-ball 40-run knock was their highest score. He top-scored in their first innings as well.
