MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Just one man stands in the way of Joe Root and cricketing history.
With his latest batting masterclass of 150 on Friday, the England star became the second highest run-scorer in test cricket behind India great Sachin Tendulkar.
“Just one more to go," said Ricky Ponting, the former Australia batter who Root leapfrogged on day 3 of the fourth test against India at Old Trafford. England leads by 186 runs after reaching 544-7 at stumps.
That commanding position was largely thanks to Root's brilliance on a day when he took his career run-total to 13,409. And despite having a long way to go to overtake Tendulkar (15,921), Ponting, who watched from the commentary booth, is backing the Englishman to become the all-time No. 1.
"The way his career has gone over the last five years, there’s absolutely no reason why not,” he said before adding that the crowd had “witnessed a moment in history.”
Personal triumph
With Tendulkar in his sights, it was fitting that the 34-year-old Root's charge up the rankings came against India.
“He’s not a big one for landmarks, but I think that’s a pretty cool one, second highest test runs is incredible,” said England vice-captain Ollie Pope. "I’m sure he knew what the number was (that he needed) but he's not a guy who wants to shout about it.
“The hunger he has, I wouldn’t be surprised if he chased him (Tendulkar) down.”
On the brightest day yet of this test, Root lapped up the adulation of the crowd, which rose to applaud as he checked off one personal achievement after another.
There was a half-century at lunch, which saw Root move up to third on the runs list, surpassing greats Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis.
His 38th test century came next and soon he was passing Ponting. Just when thoughts might have been turning towards a double century, he was stumped by substitute keeper Dhruv Jurel off Ravindra Jadeja.
There was more applause and chants of “Rooooot” as he walked to the pavilion, having helped England take control of a match it's hoping to win to clinch the five-match series, which it leads 2-1.
“The way he goes about his cricket, the way he trains, the amount of runs he's got, is amazing. He's a joy to watch and to see how he goes about his stuff. He keeps getting better and better,” said Pope.
The day could have gone very differently had Root not survived nearly being run out on 22, following a miscommunication with Ollie Pope that left him way out of position when Jadeja tried to capitalize.
Before that he narrowly avoided being out leg before wicket. But that was long forgotten as Old Trafford stood to applaud his latest outstanding performance.
In control
Root was not the only one who impressed as England carried on its brilliant batting from day 2, when the opening partnership of Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett put on a blistering 166 in reply to India’s first innings 358.
England resumed on 225-2 and Pope joined Root with a half-century at lunch as the visitors struggled to have any impact with the ball.
Pope eventually went for 71 when caught by KL Rahul off Washington Sundar. And Sundar soon had his second wicket when Harry Brook (3) was stumped by Jurel.
Stokes worries
England overcame that wobble when Ben Stokes (77 not out) came out to join Root.
The pair looked impenetrable as the England captain reached 66 not out and Root continued to score freely. It was only when Stokes retired hurt with cramp in the evening session with England on 491-4 that the partnership was eventually broken. Then India began to have some joy on a difficult day.
Root was stumped to make it 499-5. Smith (9) was caught by Jurel off Jasprit Bumrah and Chris Woakes (4) was bowled by Mohammed Siraj.
Wickets fell so quickly that Stokes was back at the crease before stumps to join Liam Dawson (21 not out).
Moving a lot more comfortably, Stokes added 11 runs to his score as England headed for a substantial first-innings lead.
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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
James Robson, The Associated Press
