Joe Root Surpasses Sachin Tendulkar to Set New Cricket Record

England test cricket captain Joe Root has added another feather to his long list of incredible achievements in cricket. He has now entered the elite club by becoming the second-fastest batter to score 23,000 runs in international cricket on Tuesday during England’s second ODI against Sri Lanka in Durham.

Root needed only three runs to reach the landmark, and he achieved the feat in his usual stylish way, using his wrists to play a delightful flick shot for a boundary. He reached the milestone in his 521st international innings, surpassing the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who took 522 innings.

The 35-year-old Englishman's record is only bettered by the Indian run machine, and former captain, Virat Kohli. The Delhi-born cricketer, Virat reached the 23,000 international runs milestone in 490 innings. Root now becomes the only batter from England the eighth cricketer overall from around the world to reach the 23,000 runs mark.

Some of the other iconic names in the list include - the wall of cricket Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli (all from India), Kumar Sangakara, Mahela Jayawardene (both Sri Lanka), Ricky Ponting (Australia), and Jacques Kallis (South Africa).

Root’s latest achievement is another addition to the growing list of records in which he has overtaken Tendulkar in test cricket. He recently, surpassed the India great’s record for the most number of fifties in test matches. However, the biggest individual record in Root’s sights, however, remains to overtake the Tendulkar’s mark of most runs in test cricket.

Currently, Root has scored 14,278 test runs and he is about 1,600 runs behind Sachin’s 15,921 runs. He is also 31 short of overtaking Tendulkar’s record of 200 test appearances. With Root turning 36 in December 2026, his numbers continue to underline his remarkable longevity.

Before Tuesday’s match, Root had scored 7,826 runs in ODIs at an average of more than 51, which includes 20 centuries. He is already England’s leading scorer in the 50-over format. In Durham, Root made a well-compiled 44 runs, before being dismissed by Sri Lanka debutant Sachindu Colombage.

England went onto win the match by 89 runs, with Will Jacks producing a watch-winning all-round performance. He scored 46 runs with the bat and also picked 5 wickets, giving away just 22 runs.