[In pictures] Joe Root shares a moment with his dad as he walks back as England's leading Test centurion during ENG vs SL 2nd Test 2024

England cricketer Joe Root shared a heartfelt embrace with his father, Matt Root, while walking back to the pavilion on Day 3 of the second Test against Sri Lanka. This moment came after Joe Root made history by becoming the player with the most centuries in Test cricket for England on Saturday, August 31.

Root matched Sir Alastair Cook’s record of 33 Test centuries in the first innings. He's now added another hundred in the second innings to achieve his 34th Test century — the most by any England player. The 33-year-old reached his century off just 111 balls, marking his fastest.

Additionally, Root became only the fourth player to score centuries in both innings at Lord’s. He follows George Headley (1939), Graham Gooch (1990), and Michael Vaughan (2004) in the record.

The right-handed batter was out for 103 off 121 balls, hitting 10 boundaries. As he walked back to the dressing room, his father embraced him, and they shared a hug to celebrate the achievement.

Here are the pictures of the moment:

Root is currently seventh on the all-time Test run-scorer list, with 12,377 runs from 145 matches, including 64 fifties and 34 hundreds.

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England favorites to win the second Test match after Joe Root's century

On Day 3 of the second Test between England and Sri Lanka, Milan Rathnayake gave the visitors an early breakthrough by dismissing Ben Duckett for 24. Shortly after, Asitha Fernando removed England captain Ollie Pope for 17.

Joe Root and Harry Brook then added 58 runs for the fourth wicket in 58 balls before Brook was dismissed by Prabath Jayasuriya for 37. While England lost wickets at one end, Root (103) reached yet another century, becoming the top century-maker for England.

England were eventually bowled out for 251, setting Sri Lanka a target of 483 runs. At stumps on Day 3, Sri Lanka were 53-2, needing 430 runs to win.

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