Fastest 10000 runs in Test: Joe Root is less than a hundred runs away from becoming only the second English player to the landmark figure.
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The first day of the ongoing opening Test match between England and New Zealand at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground was dominated completely by the fast bowlers after as many as 17 wickets fell at the cost of mere 248 runs.
After opting to bat first, Kane Williamson’s men got off to a poor start as they lost three of their batters with only eight runs posted on the scoreboard. The English pace attack made sure that the initial jolt handed to the Kiwi batters did not go in vain, as James Anderson and debutant Matty Potts bagged four-fers to skittle the batting order for mere 132/10 in 40 Overs.
In reply, the English openers – Zak Crawley (43) and Alex Lees (25) stitched a 59-run opening stand, and looked like they would be all over New Zealand like a rash with a massive first innings lead.
However, the tables turned real quick as the middle order fell like a pack of cards, with the scorecard reading 116/7, and a 16-run deficit yet to be erased.
Joe Root Test runs
Joe Root, who was mere 111 runs away from becoming only the second English player, and overall the 14th in the world to breach the 10,000-run mark in Test match Cricket, was out cheaply at the score of 11, as he nicked one off Colin de Grandhomme straight to Gully.
Overall, Root has featured in 118* Test matches (217 innings) for England, and has amassed a total of 9,900 runs at an average of 49.00, with the assistance of 53 half-centuries and 25 centuries.
Fastest 10000 runs in Test match history
Root, once he does breach, would be way below in the list of batters to have scored the fastest 10,000 runs in the longest format of the game.
Interestingly, and coincidence much, the record for fastest 10,000 runs in Test Cricket is jointly held by three legends of the game – Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, and Kumar Sangakkara, with all of them taking 195 innings each to reach the landmark figure.
It is worth of a mention that only 13 players till date have scored Test runs in excess of 10,000.
| Player | Opposition | Time taken | Matches | Innings | Venue |
| Brian Lara (WI) | v England | 13y 250d | 111 | 195 | Manchester |
| Sachin Tendulkar (INDIA) | v Pakistan | 15y 121d | 122 | 195 | Kolkata |
| Kumar Sangakkara (SL) | v Australia | 12y 159d | 115 | 195 | Melbourne |
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) | v West Indies | 12y 174d | 118 | 196 | North Sound |
| Rahul Dravid (INDIA) | v South Africa | 11y 280d | 120 | 206 | Chennai |
