Coming for Sachin Tendulkar's record? Joe Root breaks silence on becoming second-highest Test run-scorer

England National Cricket Team modern-day batting great Joe Root has finally broken his silence on becoming the second-highest run-scorer in Test cricket history.

Joe Root came up with a nonchalant reaction, saying that "It is pretty cool" to reach such a big landmark, as he never thought he would become the second-highest run-scorer in Test cricket.

Joe Root creates history in Manchester Test

Post-COVID, Joe Root has been one of the most dominant batters the game of cricket has ever seen in the Test format.

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From being the worst-performing Fab Four batter till 2020, Root quickly surpassed his competitors Kane Williamson, Virat Kohli, and Steve Smith to take the No.1 spot.

Root has consistently scored runs across all conditions and has emerged as a key batter even in the Bazball era for England. Heading into the Manchester Test match, Root was at the fifth spot in the all-time Test run-scorers list.

In the ongoing match against India, he played a wonderful knock in England's first innings at Old Trafford, slamming 150 runs, and it helped him surpass Rahul Dravid (13,288), Jacques Kallis (13,289), and Ricky Ponting (13,378) and become the second-highest run-getter in Test history.

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It is a bit of a pinch yourself moment: Joe Root

In an interaction on Sky Sports, Root talked about rising to the No.2 spot in the highest Test run-scorers list and said that he tried to imitate the likes of Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, and Brian Lara as a kid, and now surpassing them is surreal. He elaborated:

"It is pretty cool. When you look at the names on that list (leading run-scorers list), all people as a kid growing up, that's who I would try and be in the garden, in the street, on the driveway, at my local club.

"We'd play mini Test matches, me and my brother, anyone else who was knocking around the local club. One day I'd try and be Ricky Ponting, the next I'd try and be Kumar Sangakkara or Brian Lara. Not left-handed, but same back lift, same, you know, trying to... try it all out and pretend that I was, you know, at different parts of the world scoring Test Match 100s and, you know, even just to be mentioned in the same sentence as these guys is a bit of a pinch yourself moment, so it is pretty cool, yeah.

"Like, that 2005 series was... It was huge for my era of play. Watching that 100 you (Ricky Ponting) got here and the rest of that all unfold, that was a massive inspiration for me. So, yeah, to even just be mentioned in the same sentence is pretty cool."

"It is pretty cool" 🤩

Joe Root reacts to becoming the second-highest run-scorer in Test cricket 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 pic.twitter.com/gqJHGLnDKy

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 26, 2025

It's not about you, it's about winning the game - Joe Root on personal milestones

Joe Root further discussed about not focusing on personal milestones and said that he only thinks about helping his team win matches. He said:

"It's easy to get caught up in this sort of stuff (on records and personal milestones) but, at the end of the day, you're playing against India in one of the biggest series there is, on a crucial day's play.

"You're really trying and get ahead and into a position to win a Test match, with the sun out. It's not about you, it's about winning the game."