Former England captain Joe Root achieved a rare feat while batting at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on day three of the ongoing first Test against India. Root, 33, surpassed former Australia captain Ricky Ponting to become the leading run-getter in Test cricket against India.
Root now has 2557 runs against India, two more than Ponting, who ended his Test career as the then leading run-getter against India in the red-ball format. The list of the top-ten leading run-scorers in Tests against India includes some of the finest batters to have played the game.
Alistair Cook (2431 runs), Clive Lloyd (2344 runs), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (2171 runs) and Michael Clarke (2049 runs) among others are a part of the illustrious list.
Meanwhile, Root couldn't occupy the crease long enough to celebrate the milestone as a sharp revere swinging delivery from Jasprit Bumrah got the better of him at an individual score of 2. Root was trapped in front of the stumps as Bumrah got the ball to reverse into him and the prodigious movement left the former flummoxed.
Though Root used the DRS (Decision Review System), the hawk-eye suggested that the ball would have clipped the bail on the leg stump. Hence, the third umpire upheld the on-field umpire Chris Gaffaney's decision and Root was forced to make the long walk back to the English dressing room.
Root's poor form is a matter of grave concern for the touring party as he has an impressive record as a Test batter against India in India. The English batter has racked up 983 runs at an average of 46.80 in 11 Tests that he has played in India thus far with the help of two centuries and five fifties.
Notably, England have a first innings deficit of 190 runs and are in a precarious situation.
