Joe Root becomes the English player with most Test half-centuries, close to breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record

Root close to smashing Tendulkar's record of most fifties in Tests

England batter Joe Root continued to break Test records, becoming the English player with most fifties in Test cricket following a match-winning knock against Sri Lanka in the first Test of the series in Manchester. Thanks to his impressive 62, England would go on to pull off a 5-wicket victory.

After a fine 42 in the first innings, Root once again showcased his composure in a tense run chase of 205 runs, scoring an unbeaten 62 in 128 balls, which included only 2 boundaries.

Now, Root has a total of 64 Test fifties under his name, the most by a batter from his team and overall, third-highest. He is just behind Shivnarine Chanderpaul of West Indies and Indian icon Sachin Tendulkar in the list of most Test half-centuries.

This was also Root’s 10th fifty-plus score in fourth innings. Above him are England greats like Michael Atherton and Alastair Cook, who have scored 11 half-centuries each in fourth innings.

This was also Root’s eighth fifty-plus score at Manchester, making him the player with most fifty-plus scores at this venue in Test cricket.