Joe Root 2nd England player to reach 10,000 Test runs, one century away from equalling Virat Kohli, Steve Smith's record

He may have had a difficult two years as captain of England, eventually losing that position and being replaced by Ben Stokes, but Joe Root continued his blistering form with the bat by leading his team to victory against New Zealand in the first Test at Lord's. Root scored his 26th Test century on Sunday and in the process became the second English player and 14th overall to cross 10,000 runs in the longest format of the game. 

Root ended the match unbeaten on 115 runs, which he scored in 170 balls, hitting 12 fours in the innings. His former captain Alastair Cook was the only England player to have crossed over into five figures in Test cricket before this. He remains second behind Cook in the list of England players with most centuries in Test cricket. Cook had retired with 33 tons. 

Root is now just one century away from equalling Virat Kohli and Steve Smith's record of most Test centuries among active players. Both Kohli and Smith are on 27 centuries and have been experiencing going through their own respective dry spells as far as tons are concerned. While Kohli has not scored any international centuries since November 2019, Smith hasn't reached three figures in Test cricket since January 2021. 

In fact, Root's blistering form over the last two years has helped him catch up with the rest of the players with whom he is considered to form the ‘Fab 4’. Kohli had led the way with 27 tons at the start of 2021 while Smith was on 26. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was on 24 centuries while Root was on 17. Root has since overtaken Williamson, whose Test appearances have dwindled since December 2019 due to a spate of injuries, and is now one cenury away from equalling Smith and Kohli. 

Root is also the first batter in the history of the longest format of the game to have scored 10,000 runs in less than 10 years after making his debut.