Joe Root equals Sachin Tendulkar's world record in Test cricket with half-century against Pakistan

Leeds (England):

Joe Root rediscovered his form in England’s first Test against Pakistan at Headingley in Leeds.

, Root responded strongly in his first outing as captain as he once again showed his class with the bat.

After taking a while to settle down, the veteran brought up his half-century in the 39th over. With that, Root equalled Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most half-centuries in Test cricket. Both cricketers now have 68 half-centuries to their name in the longest format of the game. Notably, Tendulkar had held the record for over a decade before Root drew level with the former India batter after a classy show of 66 runs.

Most half-centuries in Test cricket:PlayerNationalityMatchesHalf-centuriesEngland26468rIndia27868West Indies25066Australia23863India25063gAustralia24662South Africa23558England25857India20856Sri Lanka19552Root also breaks Clive Lloyd’s record

The half-century was Root’s 42nd as England’s Test captain, taking him past former West Indies captain Clive Lloyd, who has 41. Root now sits among the top five for most Test fifties as captain, behind Graeme Smith, Ricky Ponting, Allan Border and Misbah-ul-Haq.

Most half-centuries as Test captain:CaptainMost Test half-centuriesGraeme Smith61Ricky Ponting54Allan Border51Misbah-ul-Haq43Joe Root42Clive Lloyd41Three runs away from Ricky Ponting’s record

Apart from these two legendary records, Root is also three runs away from breaking Ricky Ponting’s all-time record of most runs at home in Test cricket. He can achieve the feat in the second innings of the Headingley Test or in the next match.

Cox, Root bail England

After bundling Pakistan to 171 runs in the first innings, England suffered early as Ben Duckett and Emilio Gay failed to make an impact. The openers departed for 15 and 33 runs, respectively, as the onus fell on Jordan Cox and Joe Root to bail the team out.

The duo eventually put up a partnership of 150 runs. Batting at three, Cox made 73 runs off 100 balls and was the aggressor between him and Root. He looked rock-solid in the middle before Usman Ali got the better of him. It was only four balls later when Joe Root departed after being given LBW. He reviewed the call, but it was all reds in the DRS.

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