3 Sachin Tendulkar Test records that Joe Root will never be able to break
Sachin Tendulkar and Joe Root have been synonymous with class and consistency in Test cricket. Both have had a tremendous impact on their respective team's success over the years.
Tendulkar amassed 15,921 runs in 200 matches at a prolific average of 53.78, with 51 hundreds and 68 half-centuries. Meanwhile, England's Root has garnered 11,940 runs in 142 games, with 32 centuries and 62 fifties.
Root still has the chance of breaking at least a few of Tendulkar's records - most appearances, run tally, and number of centuries. Interestingly, the England batter has broken a few of them - fifties in consecutive Test matches and most runs in a calendar year.
However, there are few of Sachin Tendulkar's records, which will be difficult to break for Joe Root during his red-ball career. Let's take a look at three of them:
#1 Fastest to 15,000 runs
Legendary batter Sachin Tendulkar became the first cricketer to reach the milestone of 15,000 runs in his 300th innings. He achieved the feat in November 2011 during the second innings against the West Indies in Delhi. After getting dismissed for seven in the first innings, Tendulkar scored 76 off 148 to cross the 15,000-run mark and help India seal a clinical five-wicket victory.
On the other hand, Joe Root has already played out 260 innings of his Test career and is around 3,000 runs short of the mark. To accumulate the runs at that speed would require him to score 75 runs in every innings, which is certainly difficult for any batter.
#2 Longest Test career
The 'Master Blaster' made his Test debut at the tender age of 16 in November 1989 against Pakistan in Karachi. Tendulkar went on to feature for the Indian team until November 2013. In total, his tenure lasted for 24 years and one day.
Meanwhile, Root made his red-ball debut in December 2012 against India in Nagpur, where he slammed 73 off 229 balls in the first innings. Now into his 12th year as a player and aged 33 years, it would be highly challenging for the English batter to continue his career for 12 or more years.
#3 Most consecutive innings without a duck
Sachin Tendulkar's last duck of his career came in March 2008 against South Africa in Chennai. Although Virender Sehwag scored a triple century and helped India post 600+ total, Tendulkar could only get caught by Jacques Kallis of Makhaya Ntini for a duck.
However, from that point onwards, the former batter reigned supreme in his ability to contribute to the Indian team and help them emerge victorious. He stands third on the list of most consecutive innings (91*) without a duck, which stretched until the final game of his career.
Meanwhile, Root was dismissed for a duck in May 2016 against Sri Lanka in Leeds. Then, he could only keep the streak going until 46 innings, before he was bowled by Trent Boult in March 2018 against New Zealand.
Root's last duck came in December 2022 against Pakistan in Karachi, when he was dismissed by Nauman Ali. Since then, it has only been around 30 innings, and it might prove to be difficult for the 33-year-old to avoid a duck in the coming series.