Root hits his 38th Test ton, 13 hundreds away from Tendulkar's record of 51

Root has also surpassed Ricky Ponting in the all-time highest run scorers in Test cricket and now holds the second spot behind Sachin

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