How close are Joe Root’s Test records to Sachin Tendulkar’s? Numbers Breakdown | Cricket News
Joe RootThe match against New Zealand in the second Test is not one of those games that usually gets a place in the highlight package.Scores of 21 and 18 from Trent Bridge did not prevent England from losing the series 1-2 after taking an early lead. Ben Stokes’ decision to retire from Test cricket has dominated the headlines, with England still searching for answers after another series that promised much but delivered little. However, by the time the game was over, another number had quietly moved on.Root has now completed 166 Tests in his career, taking a total of 14,114 Test runs. Only one man has scored more runs in Test cricket history. Sachin TendulkarOf the 15,921 people who once easily faded into obscurity, 1,807 have now fled.In and of itself, that doesn’t necessarily put that record in jeopardy. Cricket has been here before.When Ricky Ponting completed 13,000 runs, people started discussing whether he could achieve the target. The same thing happened when Jacques Kallis kept adding runs season after season. The extraordinary end to Kumar Sangakkara’s career briefly reignited the debate. Alastair Cook was England’s highest run-scorer before Root, playing 161 Tests and retiring with over 12,000 runs.One by one, they made the list. One by one they ended.For much of the past decade, Tendulkar’s record has remained where it was when he retired in 2013 – compelling, admirable, but rarely considered realistically beatable.However, Root changes that. Not just because he has reached 14,000 runs, but he has surpassed everyone else.
In short, the chase has begun, and the obvious way to observe the chase is through simple arithmetic. Root still needs 1,807 runs and England has a packed Test schedule over the next two seasons.He remains their leading batsman and, unlike many players in their thirties, shows little sign of a sustained decline in form or fitness. Given his scoring profile, if he maintains his career scoring rate, that record could come in another 18 to 21 Tests.But can he ultimately achieve this goal? Where does he currently stand in pursuit of that goal, compared to others who might have a chance to reach the top?Take Ponting, Kallis or Cook for example.All three completed 12,000 tests. For three years he was the world’s leading batsman. However, by the time they were in their thirties, the gap with Tendulkar had become too great. They were still scoring, but not at a pace that seriously threatened the record.This is where Root is different. At 35, he has already accumulated more runs than Tendulkar did at the same age.
In a way, age is an unusual way to compare batting careers. Most records are measured in games, innings, or runs. However, age often tells a different story.Tendulkar made his Test debut at the age of 16 and spent nearly a quarter of a century in international cricket. Root arrived much later, at just 21, but his run-scoring rate over the past decade has been so consistent that he has effectively erased a five-year lead.That’s what makes this chase different from other chases. For the first time since Tendulkar retired, the record was not discussed as another batsman had reached a milestone.However, there is another side to the story. Because while Root leads the timeline, many of the knocks that define greatness still belong to Tendulkar.Tendulkar has a better career average. Every time he came in to bat, he scored more runs. He reached important milestones in fewer innings and often converted fifties into hundreds.Even when Root became the youngest batsman to reach 10,000 Test runs, Tendulkar reached the milestone in fewer innings. The same pattern continues at 14,000 points. Root is younger. Tendulkar reached there faster.
What’s really working in Root’s favor is that England have played more Test cricket than almost any other team over the past decade. Root rarely missed a game. What’s more, he rarely disappears for long periods of time.Every great hitter goes through a lean phase. Ponting did it. Cook did it. Even Tendulkar had a period when hundreds were depleted. Root’s stellar consistency since 2021 has prevented that from happening.He continues to score regardless of the opponent or the conditions, and just as importantly, he continues to help himself. One innings turns into another Test. One series will become another family summer. Over fourteen years, these additional chances accumulated, creating a lead that none of Tendulkar’s previous challengers could build.
After 25 Tests, Root has gradually established himself as a fixture in England’s middle-order. By the time he was 50, he had completed 4,000 runs. The milestones kept coming – 75 tests, 100 tests, 125 tests, then 150 tests. At every stage, the gap between him and Tendulkar narrowed, not because of one great season but because the build-up never really stopped.There are other comparisons that highlight the differences between the two careers.
Tendulkar has scored more runs in away Tests than in India and has averaged slightly better results overseas than on familiar pitches. It remains one of the less-heralded aspects of his career.Root’s split is different. His strongest statistics have come in England, although one opponent has had a greater impact on his record than any other. Root has scored over 3,300 Test runs and 13 centuries against India, making it the most productive encounter of his career. Australia remains one of his main rivals and his performance doesn’t quite match the rest of his record.While these numbers help explain careers, they don’t necessarily explain records. For that, it helps to see how Tendulkar scores after turning 35. By the time Tendulkar turned 35, he had achieved almost everything a Test batsman could wish for. He had already completed 12,000 meters, but still had nearly 4,000 meters ahead of him.Those years rarely dominate discussions about Tendulkar’s career. Fans still remember the straight-ball match in Perth, the showdown with Shane Warne and the Desert Storm innings in Sharjah, even though they were one-day cricket. The record itself, however, is protected by what happened later.He continues to play. He kept scoring.
This is the stage that Root has just entered. The data shows that he has given himself the best opportunity to bat since Tendulkar retired.Beyond that, they don’t guarantee anything. The remaining 1,807 games are unlikely to be determined by a prolific summer or an overseas tour. They will depend on something harder to predict: fitness, selection, and whether Root can avoid the gradual decline that eventually plagues every Test batsman.England’s schedule certainly gives him a chance.
That’s why Root’s pursuit feels different from the one around Ponting, Kallis or Cook. Previous challengers tried to match Tendulkar’s total. Root has reached an important stage in his career.The preceding stages were those that initially made 15,921 possible. Whether he ultimately gets there will only be known over the next two or three years.Currently, one thing has changed.Tendulkar’s record has remained untouched for over a decade as no one has been able to reach that point having already racked up enough runs.The roots have done it and the chase is no longer hypothetical. It finally became a reality.
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