Joe Root surpasses Alastair Cook as England’s top Test run scorer

JOE Root became England's highest run scorer in Test cricket on the third day of the first Test against Pakistan in Multan, surpassing Alastair Cook's record.

Root achieved this milestone by driving Pakistan seamer Aamer Jamal for a boundary, reaching 71 runs.

At lunch, Root was unbeaten on 72 from 118 balls, with Ben Duckett on 80 off just 67 balls.

England reached 232-2, trailing Pakistan by 324 runs with eight wickets in hand. Pakistan had earlier posted 556 in their first innings.

Duckett showed no signs of trouble from the thumb injury he sustained while taking a catch on Tuesday, which had pushed him to bat at number four instead of opening.

Together, Root and Duckett shared an unbroken 119-run partnership, while England lost Zak Crawley, who made 78, as the only wicket of the session.

Root broke Cook's record in his 147th Test and 268th innings, surpassing Cook's total of 12,472 runs, which the former England captain had accumulated over 161 Tests before retiring in 2018.

Root’s innings so far included five boundaries, while Duckett hit 11 fours in his aggressive knock.

Root had earlier added 109 runs with Crawley for the second wicket. Crawley was dismissed early in the third morning when he flicked a delivery from Shaheen Shah Afridi to mid-wicket, where Jamal took the catch at the second attempt.

Duckett’s attacking approach saw him take five boundaries off spinner Abrar Ahmed and reach his 10th Test half-century from 45 balls.

Root, at the other end, played more steadily, bringing up his 65th Test fifty from 76 balls. He was applauded by his teammates and the England fans when he passed Cook’s record, finishing the session with 12,474 runs.

India’s Sachin Tendulkar remains the all-time leading run scorer in Test cricket with 15,921 runs from 200 matches.

(With inputs from AFP)