Ponting Predicts Tendulkar’s Run Tally Record Will Be Surpassed

Root recently reached 12,000 Test runs, placing him seventh on the all-time list and within reach of Ponting and Tendulkar’s records.

Ponting Appreciate Joe Root

England’s right-handed batter Joe Root is just 1,351 runs away from Ricky Ponting’s record of 13,378 Test runs and less than 4,000 runs behind Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 15,921 runs. 

Root has a good chance to narrow this gap even further during England’s upcoming ICC World Test Championship series against Sri Lanka later this month.

Ponting said, “He could potentially do that. He is 33 years of age, more than 3000 runs behind. It depends on how many Test matches they play, but if they’re playing 10 to 14 Test matches a year, and if he’s scoring 800 to 1000 runs a year, then that means he’s only three or four years away from getting there. So that’ll take him to 37 years of age. If his hunger’s still there, then there’s every chance that he could do it.”

Root recently scored his 32nd Test century against the West Indies in Nottingham, marking his fourth century since the start of last year. 

He is far behind Tendulkar’s 51, Ponting emphasised how much Root has improved in converting good starts into big scores.

Ponting added, “In the last couple of years, he has gotten better and better. There’s always talk around batters reaching their prime in their early 30s, and he’s certainly done that. His conversion rates have been the key. Four or five years ago, he was making a lot of 50s but struggled to turn them into hundreds. Now, almost every time he reaches 50, he goes on to make a big hundred. That’s been the real turnaround for him.”

NO.1 Test Batter

Joe Root has regained the No. 1 spot on the ICC Test batting rankings, marking the ninth time he has held this position. 

He overtook Kane Williamson after scoring a crucial 87 runs in the first innings of England’s Test match against the West Indies at Edgbaston. 

Root was the only top-order player to score more than 20 runs, though England’s lower order, including Jamie Smith, who nearly scored a century, helped them pile on the runs. Smith’s performance also boosted him up 31 places to No. 64 in the rankings.

During this Test, Root achieved another milestone by surpassing Brian Lara’s career total of 11,953 Test runs, making him the seventh-highest run-scorer in Test cricket history with 12,207 runs. 

Among active players, Root now has the most Test runs, ahead of Steven Smith and Virat Kohli. Root first reached the top of the Test rankings in August 2015 and was last there in June 2023 after an impressive performance in the Ashes series.

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