Top 10 Joe Root records in his 100th Test
England captain Joe Root began his 100th Test on a positive note, winning the toss and deciding to bat first in the opening Test against India in Chennai.
The day was only to get better for the England Test skipper, as the visitors dominated proceedings.
England reached stumps at 263 for 3, with Joe Root unconquered on a brilliant 128 off 197 balls. The 30-year-old hit 14 fours and a six during his unbeaten stay.
Joe Root featured in a dogged third-wicket stand of exactly 200 runs with Dom Sibley (87 off 286). Sibley's vigil ended in the last over of the day when he was trapped lbw by Jasprit Bumrah after occupying the crease for 382 minutes.
During the course of his memorable knock, Joe Root achieved many landmarks in his landmark Test! Here are ten of the top stats:
#1 Joe Root becomes the ninth batsman to score a century in their 100th Test
Joe Root is the ninth batsman to score a hundred in their 100th Test.
Colin Cowdrey (England), Javed Miandad (Pakistan), Gordon Greenidge (West Indies), Alec Stewart (England), Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pakistan), Ricky Ponting (Australia), Graeme Smith (South Africa) and Hashim Amla (South Africa) are the other players to have achieved the feat.
Among the aforementioned players, Ponting is the only one to score a hundred in both innings of his 100th Test, something Joe Root would love to emulate.
#2 Joe Root is the first player to score a hundred in his 98th, 99th and 100th Tests
Joe Root has registered hundreds in his last three Tests, making him the first player to score centuries in his 98th, 99th and 100th Tests.
He smashed 228 in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle; Joe Root followed that up with 186 in the second Test of the series at the same venue as England hammered the hosts 2-0.
#3 Joe Root registers his seventh 50+ score in as many Tests in India
Joe Root loves playing in India.
The Chennai Test is his seventh in the country, with the England captain registering a 50-plus score in each of these games.
The breakdown of scores is as follows:
73 & 20* Nagpur.
124 & 4 Rajkot.
53 & 25 Vizag.
15 & 78 Mohali.
21 & 77 Mumbai (Wankhede Stadium).
88 & 6 Chennai.
128* Chennai (innings in progress).
#4 Joe Root features in the highest partnership for any wicket against India in India in eight years
The stand of exactly 200 runs between Joe Root and Dom Sibley is the highest partnership for any wicket against India in India since January 2013.
Root and Sibley went past the Aussie duo of Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell, who scored 191 runs in the Ranchi Test in March 2017.
The last pair to score more than the Root-Sibley duo in India was Ian Bell-Jonathan Trott. They added 208 runs for fourth wicket in Nagpur in December 2012. Incidentally, that was Joe Root's debut Test.
#5 Joe Root becomes the eighth non-Asian player with hundreds in three consecutive Tests in Asia
Joe Root joined a unique list by scoring his 20th Test hundred. He is now the eighth non-Asian batsman to have scored hundreds in three consecutive Tests in Asia.
Root’s two earlier centuries during this sequence came in Galle, Sri Lanka, where he scored 228 and 186.
The illustrious list features Alastair Cook (2012), Hashim Amla (2010), Jacques Kallis (2004-07), Brian Lara (2001-06), Ken Barrington (1961), Garfield Sobers (1958) and Everton Weekes (1948).
#6 Joe Root has the second-most 50+ scores in consecutive Tests in India
With seven fifty-plus scores in as many Tests, Joe Root is now joint-second in the list of players with most consecutive Tests in India with a score of fifty or more.
Pakistan’s Javed Miandad leads the list with eight. West Indies’ Alvin Kallicharran and India’s VVS Laxman have seven each.
#7 Joe Root equals his record for most Test hundreds in a calendar year
Only five days into the second month of 2021, Joe Root has already equalled his record for most Test hundreds in a calendar year.
Joe Root has amassed three Test hundreds this year. He had registered three Test hundreds each in 2014 and 2015.
#8 Joe Root has the fifth-most Test hundreds among active players
With his 20th Test hundred, Joe Root went past Ross Taylor (19) on the list of active players with most Test centuries.
Only Steve Smith (27), Virat Kohli (27), Kane Williamson (24) and David Warner (24) are above Joe Root in the list.
#9 Joe Root has the most Test runs as captain since January 2018
Joe Root has scored the most runs as a Test captain since January 2018. Following his unbeaten 128 in Chennai, he has now compiled 2817 runs from 36 Tests at an average of 46.18, a tally that consists of seven hundreds.
Virat Kohli is next on the list with 2050 runs. However, he has played fewer games (25) than Kohli, doing so at an impressive average of 52.56.
#10 Joe Root has the most 50-plus scores by active players against India
Joe Root now holds the record for most 50-plus Test scores by an active player against India.
He has scored nine fifties and five hundreds in Test matches against India.
Steve Smith held the earlier record with 13 fifty-plus scores (eight hundreds and five fifties). Angelo Mathews is a distant third in the list with seven (three hundreds and three fifties).