5 records broken by Joe Root in Lord’s Test vs Sri Lanka
Day 3 of the second Test between England and Sri Lanka belonged to Joe Root. The 33-year-old scored his second century of the match, helping the hosts set a daunting target of 483 runs for Sri Lanka. At the close of play on Day 3, the visitors were 53-2 after 20 overs, still needing 430 runs to win.
Root scored 143 off 206 balls in England's first innings. He continued his impressive form from the previous game, where he scored an unbeaten 62 in the fourth innings to secure a win for the hosts.
Root’s 34th Test century saw him break several records and cement his place in cricket history. This century has made England favorites to win both the match and the series. On that note, let's look at five records broken by Joe Root in the Lord’s Test against Sri Lanka.
#1 Joe Root became the player with the most Test centuries for England
With his hundred in the second innings for England, Joe Root became the player with the most centuries for the country, surpassing Sir Alastair Cook's record of 33.
Root equaled Cook’s record by scoring 143 runs in the first innings and then set a new milestone with his 34th century in the second innings of the match. The former England captain, Sir Alastair Cook, played 161 Tests, amassing 12,472 runs, including 33 centuries.
#2 He became the player with most centuries at Lord’s
Root also set a new record for the most centuries at the iconic Lord’s, with this being his seventh hundred there. His first century at Lord’s came in 2013 against Australia, where he scored 180 off 338 balls, including 18 boundaries and two sixes while opening the innings with Alastair Cook. England won that match by 347 runs.
Previously, Graham Gooch and Michael Vaughan held the record with six centuries each at Lord’s.
#3 He has now the most Test runs in England
Joe Root now holds the record for the most runs scored by a player in Test matches in England. The 33-year-old has amassed 6,733 runs in 77 home Tests at an average of 55.64, including 32 fifties and 21 centuries.
This record was previously held by Alastair Cook, who scored 6,568 runs in 89 home Tests at an average of 44.37, with 32 half-centuries and 15 centuries.
#4 He became the fourth player to score a century in both innings of a Test match at Lord’s
The former England captain also became the fourth player to score centuries in both innings of a Test match at Lord’s. He made 143 runs off 206 balls in the first innings and followed up with 103 off 121 balls in the second innings.
The first player to achieve this feat at Lord’s was West Indian George Headley, who scored 106 and 107 against England in 1939. Graham Gooch later accomplished it in 1990 against India with scores of 333 and 123.
Before Root, Michael Vaughan achieved this in 2004 against the West Indies, with scores of 103 and 101 not out.
#5 Root surpassed Graham Gooch to score the most runs at Lord’s
With his second-innings score of 103 runs at Lord’s against Sri Lanka, Joe Root surpassed Graham Gooch to become the leading run-scorer at the venue.
Root has now accumulated 2,022 runs in 40 innings at an average of 54.64, including seven centuries. Gooch previously held the record with 2,015 runs in 39 innings at an average of 53.03, along with six centuries.