Joe Root Inches Closer To Break Sachin Tendulkar's Record, Smashes 36th Hundred In Test Cricket

England's Joe Root smashed his 36th Test hundred and equalled the number of centuries scored by Rahul Dravid during the Test against New Zealand.

Wellington: England's star batter Joe Root racked up his 36th Test hundred and equalled former India skipper and head coach Rahul Dravid's tally. He achieved this significant record on Day 2 of the second Test between New Zealand and England at Basin Reserve here on Sunday, December 8, 2024.

Root, who has a great opportunity to break Sachin Tendulkar's record of scoring the most runs in Test cricket, can give himself a chance to break the latter's most Test centuries record. Record now stands at fifth position in the all-time list for most centuries, the list led by great Sachin Tendulkar with 51 Tests, followed by South Africa's Jacques Kallis (45), Ricky Ponting (41), and Kumar Sangakkara (38).

Joe Root... That is RIDICULOUS! 🤯

He reaches three figures in style, ramping his way to a THIRTY-SIXTH Test century! pic.twitter.com/EFNXzRlatp

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 7, 2024

Root brings up his hundred with his newly adopted yet signature shot as he reverse-scoops to the pacer. The 33-year-old was batting at 98 when he played a ramp shot and the tall pacer William O'Rourke's delivery went off flying over wicketkeeper Tom Blundell's head for a boundary.

And we've declared 🤝

Joe Root nicks off and Ben Stokes says enough's enough. We lead by 5️⃣8️⃣2️⃣ runs in Wellington.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 4️⃣2️⃣7️⃣-6️⃣ (dec) pic.twitter.com/5obxXK8sZR

— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 7, 2024

However, Root's (106-run knock off 130 balls) stay didn't continue for a longer period as he got dismissed in the same over after hitting another four. Following his dismissal, England skipper Stokes declared the innings.

Meanwhile, Root also joined an elite list of players who have hit over 100 fifty-plus scores in the longest format of the game. He became the first English batter and fourth overall to record 100 scores of fifty or more in Test cricket. Root is now only behind India's Sachin Tendulkar (119), Jacques Kallis (103), and Ricky Ponting (103).

Joe Root requires more 114 runs to complete 13,000 runs in Test cricket. He is currently 3,035 runs behind Sachin's record for most runs in Test cricket.