Joe Root added another feather to his cap on Day 4 of the fifth Test at The Oval as he notched up yet another half-century, taking his tally of 50-plus scores against India in home conditions to a record 16. The England great now stands level with Herbie Taylor and only behind Sir Don Bradman, who had 17 such scores against England in Australia.
Most 50-plus scores against an opponent in home Tests
17 – Sir Don Bradman (AUS) vs ENG16 – Herbie Taylor (SA) vs ENG16 – Joe Root (ENG) vs IND*
With this knock, Root has now scored 500 or more runs in a Test series against India for the third time — the most by any player in history. He overtakes a list that includes greats like Everton Weekes, Ricky Ponting, Garry Sobers, and Younis Khan, all of whom managed it twice. It’s a record that speaks volumes of Root’s consistency and hunger against top opposition.
Most times 500-plus runs vs IND in a series
3 – Joe Root (ENG)**2 – Everton Weekes (WI)2 – Zaheer Abbas (PAK)2 – Younis Khan (PAK)2 – Garry Sobers (WI)2 – Ricky Ponting (AUS)
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Root also achieved another significant milestone during this innings — this was his 57th fifty-plus score in Tests at home, making him the joint second-most in history alongside Jacques Kallis and Mahela Jayawardene. Only Ricky Ponting, with 61 such scores in Australia, is ahead of him. Earlier in the day, India struck early with the wickets of Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope. Duckett was dismissed by Prasidh Krishna for 54 while Pope fell to a sharp in-ducker from Siraj for 27. Root then stepped in to anchor the innings, continuing his rich vein of form in this high-stakes series.