 "Root hits his 38th Test ton, 13 hundreds away from Tendulkar's record of 51")
Former England skipper Joe Root continues to enjoy a record-breaking run in the fourth Test of the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy against India in Manchester. Batting on Day 3 of the Test during England’s first innings, Root began the day by surpassing Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis in the all-time list of top Test run-scorers, moving into the number three spot behind only Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting. But the Englishman did not stop there—he converted his strong start into a magnificent century to hand England complete control of the match.
This is Root’s 38th career Test hundred, taking him level with Kumar Sangakkara in the all-time list of most career Test hundreds at joint fourth. He now needs three more Test hundreds to equal third-placed Ricky Ponting (41 centuries), seven more to match Jacques Kallis (45 centuries), and 13 more to equal Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar’s mammoth record of 51 Test centuries.
Most Test centuries by an individual player in Test cricket
| Player | Span | Mat | Inns | Runs | HS | 100 | 50 |
| SR Tendulkar (IND) | 1989-2013 | 200 | 329 | 15921 | 248* | 51 | 68 |
| JH Kallis (ICC/SA) | 1995-2013 | 166 | 280 | 13289 | 224 | 45 | 58 |
| RT Ponting (AUS) | 1995-2012 | 168 | 287 | 13378 | 257 | 41 | 62 |
| KC Sangakkara (SL) | 2000-2015 | 134 | 233 | 12400 | 319 | 38 | 52 |
| JE Root (ENG) | 2012-2025 | 157* | 286 | 13379 | 262 | 38 | 66 |
| SPD Smith (AUS) | 2010-2025 | 119 | 212 | 10477 | 239 | 38 | 43 |
| R Dravid (ICC/IND) | 1996-2012 | 164 | 286 | 13288 | 270 | 39 | 63 |
| Younis Khan (PAK) | 2000-2017 | 118 | 213 | 10099 | 313 | 40 | 33 |
| SM Gavaskar (IND) | 1971-1987 | 125 | 214 | 10122 | 236* | 41 | 45 |
| BC Lara (ICC/WI) | 1990-2006 | 131 | 232 | 11953 | 400* | 42 | 48 |
| DPMD Jayawardene (SL) | 1997-2014 | 149 | 252 | 11814 | 374 | 43 | 50 |
| KS Williamson (NZ) | 2010-2024 | 105 | 186 | 9276 | 251 | 44 | 37 |
| AN Cook (ENG) | 2006-2018 | 161 | 291 | 12472 | 294 | 45 | 57 |
| SR Waugh (AUS) | 1985-2004 | 168 | 260 | 10927 | 200 | 46 | 50 |
| ML Hayden (AUS) | 1994-2009 | 103 | 184 | 8625 | 380 | 47 | 29 |
| V Kohli (IND) | 2011-2025 | 123 | 210 | 9230 | 254* | 48 | 31 |
| S Chanderpaul (WI) | 1994-2015 | 164 | 280 | 11867 | 203* | 49 | 66 |
| DG Bradman (AUS) | 1928-1948 | 52 | 80 | 6996 | 334 | 50 | 13 |
| MJ Clarke (AUS) | 2004-2015 | 115 | 198 | 8643 | 329* | 51 | 27 |
Root surpasses three legends in one day
Joe Root, along with equalling Kumar Sangakkara’s record for most Test centuries, surpassed three legends in the list of all-time run-scorers. As soon as Root took his innings total to 120, he moved to the second spot on the all-time Test run-scorers list with 13,379 runs—one more than now third former Australia captain Ricky Ponting.
Earlier in the day, Root had already gone past Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis, which means that despite starting the day as the fifth-highest run-getter in Test cricket, he ended it as second. However, he still has a long road ahead if he wants to surpass Sachin Tendulkar to become the all-time highest run-scorer, as Tendulkar has 15,921 Test runs to his name.
Highest run-getters in Test cricket
| Rank | Player | Span | Mat | Inns | Runs | HS | Ave | SR | 100 | 50 |
| 1 | SR Tendulkar (IND) | 1989–2013 | 200 | 329 | 15921 | 248* | 53.78 | 54.04 | 51 | 68 |
| 3 | JE Root (ENG) | 2012–2025* | 157 | 286 | 13379 | 262 | 50.84 | 57.35 | 37 | 66 |
| 2 | RT Ponting (AUS) | 1995–2012 | 168 | 287 | 13378 | 257 | 51.85 | 58.72 | 41 | 62 |
| 4 | JH Kallis (ICC/SA) | 1995–2013 | 166 | 280 | 13289 | 224 | 55.37 | 45.97 | 45 | 58 |
| 5 | R Dravid (IND) | 1996–2012 | 164 | 286 | 13288 | 270 | 52.31 | 42.51 | 36 | 63 |
| 6 | AN Cook (ENG) | 2006–2018 | 161 | 291 | 12472 | 294 | 45.35 | 46.95 | 33 | 57 |
| 7 | KC Sangakkara (SL) | 2000–2015 | 134 | 233 | 12400 | 319 | 57.4 | 54.19 | 38 | 52 |
| 8 | BC Lara (WI) | 1990–2006 | 131 | 232 | 11953 | 400* | 52.88 | 60.51 | 34 | 48 |
| 9 | S Chanderpaul (WI) | 1994–2015 | 164 | 280 | 11867 | 203* | 51.37 | 43.31 | 30 | 66 |
| 10 | DPMD Jayawardene (SL) | 1997–2014 | 149 | 252 | 11814 | 374 | 49.84 | 51.45 | 34 | 50 |
| 11 | AR Border (AUS) | 1978–1994 | 156 | 265 | 11174 | 205 | 50.56 | 41.09 | 27 | 63 |
| 12 | SR Waugh (AUS) | 1985–2004 | 168 | 260 | 10927 | 200 | 51.06 | 48.64 | 32 | 50 |
| 13 | SPD Smith (AUS) | 2010–2025* | 119 | 212 | 10477 | 239 | 56.02 | 53.68 | 36 | 43 |
| 14 | SM Gavaskar (IND) | 1971–1987 | 125 | 214 | 10122 | 236* | 51.12 | 43.35 | 34 | 45 |
| 15 | Younis Khan (PAK) | 2000–2017 | 118 | 213 | 10099 | 313 | 52.05 | 52.12 | 34 | 33 |
| 16 | HM Amla (SA) | 2004–2019 | 124 | 215 | 9282 | 311* | 46.64 | 49.97 | 28 | 41 |
| 17 | KS Williamson (NZ) | 2010–2024 | 105 | 186 | 9276 | 251 | 54.88 | 51.78 | 33 | 37 |
| 18 | GC Smith (SA) | 2002–2014 | 117 | 205 | 9265 | 277 | 48.25 | 59.67 | 27 | 38 |
| 19 | V Kohli (IND) | 2011–2025* | 123 | 210 | 9230 | 254* | 46.85 | 55.57 | 30 | 31 |
Top run-scorers in international cricket (Tests, ODIs, T20Is combined)
Root is currently ninth on the list of all-time run-scorers in international cricket across formats—Test, ODI, and T20I—another leaderboard led by Indian great Sachin Tendulkar.
| Player | Span | Mat | Inns | Runs | HS | 100 | 50 |
| SR Tendulkar (IND) | 1989-2013 | 664 | 782 | 34357 | 248* | 100 | 164 |
| KC Sangakkara (Asia/ICC/SL) | 2000-2015 | 594 | 666 | 28016 | 319 | 63 | 153 |
| V Kohli (IND) | 2008-2025 | 550 | 617 | 27599 | 254* | 82 | 143 |
| RT Ponting (AUS/ICC) | 1995-2012 | 560 |