Joe Root completes 6,000 runs in ICC World Test Championship
What's the story
Talismanic England batter Joe Root has scripted history by becoming the first batter to complete 6,000 runs in the ICC World Test Championship history. He accomplished the milestone with his 25th run in the fourth innings of the fifth and final Test against India at The Oval. The former England captain made 29 in his first outing (2nd innings). Let's decode his stats.
Career
First batter to get this feat
Since the start of the WTC, Root has been a run-scoring machine. Playing his 69th match, Root has gone past 6,000 runs at an average of 52-plus. The England batter has also hit a record 20 centuries in this league, at least seven more than any other player. His tally also includes 22 fifties. Notably, no other batter even owns 4,300 WTC runs.
Edition
Root's numbers in first two cycles
As per ESPNcricinfo, with 1,660 runs at 47.42, Root was the second-highest run-getter in the inaugural WTC edition (2019-21). He registered three tons besides eight fifties. Root amassed 1,915 runs in 22 Tests in the 2021-23 cycle. No other batter could hammer even 1,700 runs. Root's tally of eight centuries was also the highest for any batter in the second cycle (50s: 6).
Stats
Top run-scorer in WTC 2023-25 cycle as well
Coming to the 2023-25 cycle, Root hammered 1,968 runs from just 40 innings at a sensational average of 54.67. He registered seven centuries in the span as no other batter could even record six tons (50s: 7). Playing his maiden series in the 2025-27 cycle, Root has gone past 450 runs at an average of 55-plus (100s: 2).
Career
Second-most runs in Tests
Coming to his illustrious Test career, Root has raced past 13,450 runs in 158 matches at 51-plus (100s: 38, 50s: 66). He is still a long way from Tendulkar's record of 15,921 runs in 200 matches. During the fourth Test in Manchester, Root went past the run tallies of Jacques Kallis, Rahul Dravid, and Ricky Ponting to become the second-highest run-getter in Tests.