London (England): Former England skipper Joe Root scripted history, recording his 34th Test century as he became the player with the most Test centuries for England. He achieved this incredible feat during the second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's here on Saturday.
Root smashed another century in the ongoing Test, following up his first-inning knock of 143 on the third day. Root surpassed the former captain Alastair Cook's record of 33 hundred a day later equaling it when he cut pacer Lahiru Kumara towards the boundary ropes for a four. With the mark coming from 111 balls, it was also Root's fastest Test century. This milestone came in Root's 145th Test, compared to Cook's 161-match career, highlighting Root's incredible consistency and skill.
Former England skipper also added another feather to his cap with his seventh Test hundred at Lord's, becoming the player with most Test tons at the iconic venue, surpassing England greats Graham Gooch and Michael Vaughan, who each had six centuries at the 'Home of Cricket.' The right-hand batter also joined an elite group of cricketers who have scored centuries in both innings of a Test at Lord's, becoming the fourth to do so after West Indies' George Headley, Gooch, and Vaughan. However, Gooch's combined tally of 456 runs against India at Lord's in 1990 remains the highest by any batsman in a single Test.
Root's 34th Test century also moved him into joint-sixth place on the all-time list of Test century-makers, a prestigious group led by India's Sachin Tendulkar, who holds the record with 51 hundred in 200 Tests.
He also completed 200 catches in Test cricket and became the only player to achieve this landmark. He is overall third in the list after India's former captain and coach Rahul Dravid, who leads the tally with 210 catches, followed by Mahela Jayewardene with 205.
