England batter Joe Root on Saturday achieved a huge milestone during Day 3 of the ongoing fifth and final Ashes Test against Australia at The Oval.
Root continued his rich vein of form as he put England in control of the proceedings, smashing a quick-fire 92 during his breathtaking partnership with Jonny Bairstown. Root, who narrowly missed out on his century after getting dismissed on 91, helped England score 389 runs in their second innings and takes a lead of 377 runs. With his knock on Saturday, Root took his tally of runs to 412 in the ongoing series. By completing this milestone, Root equalled batting great Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most 300+ runs in a series. Root has now scored 300+ in a series for the 19th time, surpassing greats of the game like Rahul Dravid and Brian Lara. He is now tied with Tendulkar in the elite list. Most times Scoring 300+ runs in a Test Series.
19 times – Joe Root*
19 times – Sachin Tendulkar
18 times – Rahul Dravid
18 times – Brian Lara
17 times – Ricky Ponting
17 times – Alastair Cook
With England set to tour India for a five-match Test series next year, Root will fancy his chances of going past Tendulkar. In the ongoing Ashes, Root has scored 412 runs with the help of one century and two fifties.
England, in a game they must win to pull level at 2-2, were 389-9 in their second innings at stumps on the third day. After stumps, England pacer Stuart Broad made a shock announcement that he is retiring from cricket after the end of the Ashes.