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

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.