Joe Root breaks Sachin Tendulkar record during Sri Lanka ODI

CHESTER-LE-STREET: England batting star Joe Root has added another milestone to his remarkable international career, surpassing Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar while completing 23,000 international runs during the first ODI against Sri Lanka.

Root reached the landmark at Chester-le-Street, becoming the eighth player and the first English batter to score 23,000 international runs across formats.

The 35-year-old reached the milestone in his 521st innings, one innings faster than Tendulkar, who achieved the same mark in 522 innings.

Root’s achievement puts him among an elite group of international batters. India’s Virat Kohli leads the list, having reached 23,000 international runs in just 490 innings.

Before Root, Tendulkar, Kohli, Kumar Sangakkara, Ricky Ponting, Mahela Jayawardene, Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid had reached the 23,000-run mark.

Root contributed 44 runs from 52 deliveries in England’s ODI against Sri Lanka, striking five boundaries during his innings.

Following his latest milestone, Root’s international run tally stands at 23,041, placing him eighth on the all-time list.

The latest achievement is another chapter in Root’s long-running statistical rivalry with Tendulkar’s records. The England batter has previously surpassed several milestones associated with the former India great, underlining his consistency across a career spanning more than a decade.

Root’s ability to continue reaching major landmarks at 35 has kept him among the leading run-scorers in international cricket. His latest record, achieved against Sri Lanka, adds another notable entry to an already decorated career.

With England continuing their ODI campaign, Root now has another landmark behind him as he pursues further milestones in international cricket.