Joe Root leapfrogs Alastair Cook to become leading run-getter for England in Tests

Multan [Pakistan], October 9 (ANI): Star England batter Joe Root on Wednesday achieved a remarkable feat as he went past Alastair Cook to become the leading run-getter for the Three Lions in Test cricket.

Root achieved the feat during the first Test match between England and Pakistan on day three in Multan. The England batter leapfrogged Cook’s record when he reached the 71-run mark at the Multan Cricket Ground.

Root has now scored 12473 runs in the long format for England. Meanwhile, Cook had 12472 runs for the Three Lions in Test cricket.

In the 43rd over, Root achieved the record when he took just one single against Pakistan’s Abrar Ahmed. Soon after the British cricketer achieved the record England’s dressing room stood and started clapping to honour the 33-year-old’s milestone.

Root made his Test debut against India in 2012. Following that he has appeared in 146 Test matches and 267 innings and scored 12473 runs at a strike rate of 56.93 and an average of 50.62. In the long-format, Root has smashed 34 centuries and 5 double hundreds.

Legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar holds the record of the most run-getter in Test cricket with 15921 runs. Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting stands in second place on the chart with 13378 runs.

At lunch of day three, England have posted 232/2 on the board, with Ben Duckett and Joe Root unbeaten with scores of 80 and 72, respectively. Till lunch, the visitors have added 136 runs in just 25 overs against Pakistan on the batting-friendly pitch in Multan.

In the first Test match in Multan, Pakistan scored 556 runs in their first inning. Abdullah Shafique (102), Shan Masood (151) and Agha Salman (104*) were the top run scorers for the hosts.

England Playing Eleven: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (C), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (WK), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.

Pakistan Playing Eleven: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (C), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Agha Salman, Aamer Jamal, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed.