Joe Root breaks Smith's record for most Test catches: Details
What's the story
England's captain Joe Root has made history by becoming the most successful fielder in Test cricket. He achieved this milestone during the third Test against Pakistan at Edgbaston on Thursday. The record-breaking catch was Root's 220th, surpassing Australia's Steve Smith, who previously held the record with 219 catches. This achievement makes Root the leading non-wicketkeeper fielder in terms of catches taken in Tests.
Milestone moment
Root breaks Smith's record with a sharp catch
The record-breaking catch came in the first over of Pakistan's second innings.
England pacer Ollie Robinson bowled a good-length delivery into the fifth-stump channel, which was edged by Abdullah Shafique.
The ball went low toward Root at first slip, who made a sharp catch to send Shafique back for a three-ball duck.
This was also Robinson's 21st wicket of the series, further adding to Pakistan's batting woes.
Match status
England on top in 3rd Test against Pakistan
Root's record-breaking catch came after England had posted a mammoth first-innings total of 453 runs. They now lead Pakistan by a massive 320 runs.
The visitors were bowled out for just 133 on day one and now have one last chance to post a competitive score in the series.
Notably, Pakistan has failed to cross the 200-run mark in all five innings so far in this Test series.
Record
Outfielders with most catches in Tests
Smith and Root happen to be the only active players with over 200 Test catches.
Most outfield catches in Test cricket:
220*Joe Root
219 Steve Smith
210 Rahul Dravid
205 Mahela Jayawardene
200 Jacques Kallis
Career
Root owns second-most Test runs
Since a solid 66 in the 1st encounter of this series at Headingley, Root hasn't been amongst the runs.
He managed 4 and 24 at Lord's. And now at Edgbaston, he fell for 8.
Overall, Root has belted 14,216 runs from 169 matches (308 innings) at 50.23 (100s: 41, 50s: 68).
He is only behind Indian talisman Sachin Tendulkar (15,921) in terms of Test runs.