Joe Root’s remarkable career continued on day three of the fourth Test between England and India as he broke another record.
The England star already became the top fielder of all time in terms of catches earlier in the series, and he is now the first player in history to score 1,000 Test runs at Old Trafford.
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Old Trafford first hosted a game of cricket in 1857, meaning in its 168-year history, no one has ever done this.
Given Root has scored well over 13,000 runs and has played all over the world, to have managed 1,000 Test runs on one ground is a remarkable achievement.
Root played his first Test in Manchester in 2013 and has made 11 appearances since then.
Of course, that achievement was helped hugely by Root’s magnificent 254 against Pakistan in 2016.
But his consistency in Manchester has been something else.
From the 12 Tests, Root has eight half centuries and one ton, which was that mammoth score.
However, that record might go a little bit under the radar compared to the other one.
After a flurry of runs on the morning of day three, the 34-year-old moved up to third in the all-time Test runs list.
He started the day in fifth, but quickly surpassed Rahul Dravid’s score of 13,288 and Jacques Kallis’ 13,289.
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It means Root is now less than 60 runs behind Ricky Pointing, but he still has quite a way to go to catch Sachin Tendulkar at the top – with the India legend on 15,921.
Root is currently partnered by Ollie Pope at the crease as England look to eat into India’s lead.
After winning the toss for a fourth consecutive time, Ben Stokes elected to bowl.
On a dead pitch, it looked to be a poor decision, but the hosts bowled very well, with Stokes the pick of the seamers.
The captain claimed his first five-for in eight years as England bowled India out for 348, which looked to be a good score.
In response, India used the new ball poorly and England raced to 77-0 off just 14 overs.
Zak Crawley [84] and Ben Duckett [94] put on a stunning partnership of 166 before Crawley fell and Duckett went not long after.
Since then, Pope and Root cruised through the morning of day three, ensuring England trail by just 26 runs with eight wickets in hand.
The hosts are 2-1 up in the series, and a win here would see them claim the newly-created Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
