Ashes 2021-22: Joe Root eyes Sachin Tendulkar’s record of scoring most Test runs in a calendar year

England captain Joe Root, who played a scintillating knock (86 not out off 158) in the ongoing first Ashes Test against Australia, is very close to surpassing Sachin Tendulkar’s tally of Test runs in a calendar year when he takes the field on Saturday.

During his innings on Friday, Root surpassed former England captain Michael Vaughan to become the leading run-getter from England in a single calendar year in Test cricket. He now has a tally of 1541 runs in 25 innings this year at an average of 67 with six centuries and two fifties.

The England captain now needs 22 runs more to surpass Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 1562 runs, which he piled in the year 2010, to become the fifth-highest run-getter in a single calendar year in Test cricket. He is also now three runs away from overtaking former Australia captain Ricky Ponting’s 2005 haul of 1544 runs.

The star batter is currently placed eighth on the all-time list which is led by former Pakistan star Mohammad Yousuf, who scored a whopping 1788 in just 11 Tests in 2006 at an average of 99.33, followed by Viv Richards (1710 runs in 1976), Graeme Smith (1656 runs in 2008) and Michael Clarke (1595 runs in 2012).

Indian greats Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar are sixth and fifth with 1555 runs (1979) and 1562 runs (2010) respectively.

The 30-year-old has been in excellent form this year, making six centuries, including two double centuries at Galle and Chennai. Root started the year with 426 runs in two Tests against Sri Lanka and followed it up with 386 runs in the four-match series in India. At home, Root made 97 runs in two matches against New Zealand followed by amassing 564 in four Tests against India.

Root also holds three of the top five overall yearly aggregate scores of all England batsmen in Test history, having previously scored 1477 runs in 2016 and 1385 runs in 2015.