Former England captain Joe Root surpassed legendary Sachin Tendulkar for most runs in the fourth innings in Tests as his unbeaten 23 guided the visitors to a comfortable victory of New Zealand in the first Test on Sunday in Christchurch. Root currently has 1630 runs in the fourth innings, eclipsing Tendulkar's 1625.
Notably, Joe Root completed the feat in 49 appearances in fourth innings while Tendulkar took 60. Root's former teammate Alastair Cook (1611 runs, 53 innings), ex-South African captain Graeme Smith (1611 runs, 41 innings) and West Indies Shivnarine Chanderpaul (1580 runs, 49 innings) complete the top five in the list.
Adding to another feather to his cap, Root achieved the feat in his 150th Test. With 12777 runs so far in Tests, Root has already cemented his place as the fifth-highest run-getter in the longest format of the game.
Tendulkar (15921 runs) leads the chart for most Test runs, followed by Ricky Ponting (13378 runs), Jacques Kallis (13289 runs), and Rahul Dravid (13288 runs). However, Root also enlisted his name in an unwanted list when he was dismissed for a duck in the first innings.
The right-hander joined former Australian captains Ponting and Steve Waugh, who also recorded ducks in their 150th Test. While Waugh suffered the same against Pakistan in 2002, Ponting registered the unwanted feat against England in 2010.
England beat New Zealand
Meanwhile, England were able to secure victory over New Zealand in the first Test inside four days. Batting first, New Zealand rode on kane Williamson's 93 to score 348 in the first innings. England replied with 499, thanks to Harry Brook's 171, Ollie Pope's 77 and Ben Stokes' 80.
New Zealand managed 254 in the second innings, thus leaving England with 104 runs to win. Jacob Bethell scored an unbeaten 50 off just 37 balls, helping England to romp home in just 12.4 overs.
