England batter Joe Root achieved a remarkable milestone by surpassing the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s record for the most runs in Test match fourth innings during England’s eight-wicket victory against New Zealand at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Sunday.
Root overtook Tendulkar’s total of 1,625 runs in the fourth innings while remaining unbeaten on 23 off just 15 balls, as England chased down a target of 104 runs in a mere 12.2 overs, the fastest 100-plus run chase in Test history.
In his 150th Test, Root also moved past Alastair Cook (1,611) and Graeme Smith (1,611) before eclipsing Tendulkar. Remarkably, Root reached the milestone in 11 fewer innings than Tendulkar, taking his overall fourth-innings tally to 1,630 runs in 49 innings, with an average exceeding 40, including two centuries and eight fifties.
Out of Joe Root’s fourth-innings runs, only 620 have contributed to England victories, compared to 715 in wins for Sachin Tendulkar. Notably, former South African captain Graeme Smith remains the only player to score over 1,000 fourth-innings runs in winning causes.
On the all-time Test run-scoring list, Root (12,777) trails Tendulkar (15,921) by 3,144 runs, despite having played 55 fewer innings than the Indian legend.
Earlier in the match, Root fell for a four-ball duck in the first innings to New Zealand debutant Nathan Smith. This rare dismissal made him only the third player, after Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting, to register a duck in their 150th Test appearance.
Most 4th innings runs in Test cricket:
1630* – Joe Root (49 innings)
1625 – Sachin Tendulkar (60)
1611 – Graeme Smith (41)
1611 – Alastair Cook (53)
1587 – Shivnarine Chanderpaul (49)
1552 – Rahul Dravid (56)