Joe Root overtakes Kumar Sangakkara to become 6th highest run-scorer in Tests

England National Cricket Team batter Joe Root achieved a massive feat in the history of Test cricket. The premier batter surpassed Kumar Sangakkara to become the all-time 6th leading run-getter in the longest format of the game with over 12400 runs to his name.

England batter Joe Root achieved the feat in the second innings on Day 3 of the ongoing third Test against Sri Lanka National Cricket Team. The last game of the three-match Test series between the teams is taking place at the Kennington Oval in London.

Joe Root didn't have a great outing with the bat in the second innings for England. But the right-hander made sure that he achieved a massive feat in Test cricket. He went past Kumar Sangakkara when he scored his 12401th run in the longest format of the game.

Joe Root has turned into a beast in Test cricket. The right-hander has been shattering records for fun in the longest format of the game. The right-hander, who is currently the No.1 ranked batter in the format, has been scoring truckloads of runs for the English team.

Root currently is the best Test batter going around. The batter in the ongoing summer has been nothing short of exceptional as he has been slamming centuries after centuries. He surpassed Alastair Cook’s record for the most Test centuries by an England player.

In the last match against Sri Lanka, Joe Root came up with a sensational effort, slamming twin centuries. The right-hander hit 143 runs in the first innings and then, in the second innings, scored 103 runs off 121 balls, setting a new record for the most hundreds by an England player in Test cricket.

Joe Root is on the verge of surpassing Alastair Cook in terms of most Test runs

Joe Root also is on the verge of surpassing Alastair Cook in terms of most Test runs for England. The England great is 5th on the table with 12472 runs under his belt. With the kind of form he has been going through, it won't be a surprise if he ends up breaking even Sachin Tendulkar's record for the most Test runs in the history of the game.

Most runs in Test cricket

15921 - Sachin Tendulkar
13378 - Ricky Ponting
13289 - Jacques Kallis
13288 - Rahul Dravid
12472 - Alastair Cook
12402 - Joe Root
12400 - Kumar Sangakkara

Coming to the Test match, the game hands were evenly poised. England, who were asked to bat first on account of skipper Ollie Pope's 154 and Ben Duckett's 84, posted a total of 325 runs on the board. They started off pretty well with the ball as well, leaving Sri Lanka at 93/5.

But Dhananjaya de Silva (69) and the in-form Kamindu Mendis (64) frustrated England with an unbroken century partnership on the second day, helping the team post 263 runs. However, England produced a poor performance with the bat in the second innings, getting all out for 156 runs.

Sri Lanka set a target of 218 runs to chase, and they started pretty well. Although Dimuth Karunaratne fell early, Pathum Nissanka has been keeping his team in the hunt. He, along with Kusal Mendis, is playing positive cricket and would want to help the team win and end the series on high.