Joe Root: England's Test captain and veteran batsman Joe Root created history by playing a brilliant innings in the Birmingham Test against Pakistan. Root has achieved the feat of becoming the batsman who has scored the most half-centuries in Test cricket, breaking the record of the great Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar. Root scored unbeaten 62 runs in the fourth innings of the third Test played in Birmingham. His innings included 9 fours. Thanks to his brilliant batting, England defeated Pakistan by 8 wickets and won the three-match series 3-0.
Root left Sachin behind
Pakistan had set a target of 130 runs for England to win. While chasing the target, England lost two wickets for just 2 runs. After this Joe Root and Jordan Cox made a great partnership. Root scored unbeaten 62 runs and during this he completed his 69th half-century in Test cricket. Let us tell you that Sachin Tendulkar ended his Test career with 68 half-centuries. Now Root has left him behind by scoring 69 half-centuries. In this list, former West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul is at third place with 66 half-centuries. Australia's Allan Border and India's Rahul Dravid have 63-63 half-centuries in their names.
NEW RECORD 🚨
Joe Root (69) surpasses Sachin Tendulkar for most fifties in Test cricket.#ENGvPAKpic.twitter.com/FygT7nBjSQ
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) September 12, 2026
Batsmen with most half centuries in Tests:
- Joe Root – 69
- Sachin Tendulkar – 68
- Shivnarine Chanderpaul – 66
- Alan Border – 63
- Rahul Dravid – 63
Keep an eye on Sachin's record of most test runs
Joe Root has now come close to another big record of Sachin Tendulkar. Sachin currently holds the record for scoring the most runs in Test cricket. He scored 15,921 runs in 329 innings of 200 Test matches. Root is at number two in this list. So far, he has scored 14,278 runs in 309 innings of 169 Test matches at an average of 50.45. That means he is just 1,643 runs away from Sachin's record. If Root continues to score runs like this, he can break this record of Sachin in the future.
STAT ALERT📈
➡️ Joe Root becomes the first to score 1000-plus Test runs at Edgbaston.
➡️ This is his fourth venue with 1000 plus runs, after Lord's (2203), Manchester (1128) and The Oval (1050).
➡️ He is only the third player to score 1000-plus Test runs at four different… pic.twitter.com/mWW4d9Hd90
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) September 12, 2026
Made test debut in 2012
Let us tell you that Joe Root made his debut in Test cricket in the year 2012. Since then, he has been continuously performing brilliantly for England. He has 14,278 runs in his name in 169 tests. During this period he has scored 41 centuries and 69 half-centuries. Sachin Tendulkar had said goodbye to Test cricket in 2013. He scored 51 centuries in his career. Now Root has his eyes set on the record of most Test runs. In such a situation, everyone's eyes will be on his batting in the upcoming matches.
Also read- ENG vs PAK: Pakistan whitewashed 0-3, Root-Cox hit sixes; England won Birmingham test by 8 wickets