Joe Root hammers record-breaking 39th Test hundred: Decoding his stats
What's the story
Joe Root has become the 4th-highest centurion in Test cricket. The Englishman, who equaled Kumar Sangakkara with his 38th ton in the 4th England vs India, Manchester Test, has taken his tally to 39. Root got his hundred in the 4th innings of the 5th Test at The Oval. Root completed his ton after tea on Day 4 before perishing for 105.
Knock
A 195-run stand alongside Brook
England, chasing 374, resumed Day 2 on 50/1. Root arrived with the dismissal of overnight batter Ben Duckett. He looked in sync from the start and settled in nicely. England were 106/3 when Harry Brook joined Root. Thereafter, the two floored India as runs came by at a brisk pace. They added 195 runs for the 4th wicket before Brook perished (111).
Do you know?
Root and Brook clock this partnership record
As per Cricbuzz, the 195-run stand between Root and Brook is the second-highest for England against India in the 4th innings behind 269* runs added by Root and Jonny Bairstow in England's highest successful chase in Tests at Edgbaston in 2022.
Information
Root scores 105 vs India
Root managed 105 runs from 152 balls with the help of 14 fours. He was dismissed by Prasidh Krishna after getting an edge behind to the keeper. England were 337/6 when Root departed.
Tons
39th hundred, including 13 vs India
As mentioned, Root now owns the fourth-most tons in Tests. He steered clear of Sangakkara (38). He is behind Sachin Tendulkar (51), Jacques Kallis (45) and Ricky Ponting (41) in terms of centuries. This was also Root's 13th century versus India. Notably, 10 of them have come at home. Overall, he has 25 50-plus scores versus India (100s: 13, 50s: 12).
50-plus
16th fifty-plus score versus India at home
Root smacked his 16th 50-plus score versus India in Tests on home soil. He is now only behind Sir Don Bradman in terms of most 50-plus scores against an opponent in home Tests. Most 50-plus scores against an opponent in home Tests: 17 - Sir Don Bradman (AUS) vs ENG 16 - Herbie Taylor (SA) vs ENG 16 - Joe Root (ENG) vs IND*
Runs
13,500 Test runs for Root; 105th fifty-plus score
During the course of his knock, Root surpassed 13,500 runs in Tests (13,543). Root, came into this Test with 13,409 runs. He scored 29 in the first outing and then got to the milestone with his 62nd in the second. Root now owns 105 50-plus scores in Test cricket (100s: 39, 50s: 66). As per ESPNcricinfo, Root has also gone past 1,450 fours (1,451).
Home
Root surpasses Jayawardene, Ponting and Kallis with 24th home century
Root also brought up his 24th century on home soil in addition to owning 33 fifties. He has gone past Mahela Jayawardene, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis, who registered 23 hundreds each at home. Root, who in the 2nd innings, surpassed Tendulkar in terms of runs in home Tests, is closing on Ponting (7,578). Root has 7,300-plus runs on home soil.
Information
53rd First-Class hundred for Root
Root also registered his 53rd century in First-Class cricket with 39 of them coming for England in Tests. He also owns 88 fifties in the longest format. Root has raced to 18,689 runs from 232 matches (406 innings).
WTC
Root completes 6,000 runs in ICC World Test Championship
Earlier on Day 4, Root 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. Playing his 69th match, Root owns 6,080 runs at an average of 52-plus. He has hit a record 21 centuries in the WTC. His tally also includes 22 fifties.
Information
3rd Test ton and 900-plus runs at The Oval
Root has smashed his 3rd Test ton at The Oval. He also owns 4 fifties. Root, who surpassed 900 Test runs at The Oval (927), is the 7th batter to attain the feat. He has also entered the top 5 list amongst run-scorers here.
Information
Only Englishman with 500-plus runs in England-India 2025 Tests
Root also went past 500 runs in the 2025 Test series against India. Notably, he is the only Englishman to do so. He signe off with 537 runs at 67.12. In addition to three tons, he owns one fifty.
Record
Most number of 500-plus runs in a series vs India
This was the 3rd time Root scored in excess of 500 runs in a Test series against India. Most times 500-plus runs vs Team India in a series: 3 - Joe Root (ENG) 2 - Everton Weekes (WI) 2 - Zaheer Abbas (PAK) 2 - Younis Khan (PAK) 2 - Garry Sobers (WI) 2 - Ricky Ponting (AUS)
International tons
Joe Root owns joint-most centuries vs India in international cricket
Root registered his 16th century vs India in international cricket. He equaled Australia's Steve Smith and now holds the joint-most tons against India. Apart from his 13 Test tons, Root has also hit three ODI tons against India. Root's 105 takes him to 4,395 runs against India in international cricket. He averages 53.59 with 16 tons and 16 fifties from 93 innings.