Joe Root, England’s talisman, made history for another reason: he eclipsed Sachin Tendulkar as the batsman with the most runs in the fourth innings of Test cricket. Root took the top rank in England’s first Test against New Zealand, which they won by eight wickets. Root didn’t get going when he initially got the chance to bat and was removed for a duck. However, he performed better on the second occasion, scoring 23 runs off 15 balls and remaining unblemished.
Tendulkar had the record for the most runs scored in the fourth innings of a Test before the match began, with 1625 runs throughout his career. However, Root now has 1630 runs in the fourth Test innings.
Most Runs In 4th Innings Of Test Career:
1630 – Joe Root
1625 – Sachin Tendulkar
1611 – Alastair Cook
1611 – Graeme Smith
1580 – Shivnarine Chanderpaul
England captain Ben Stokes was delighted with his team’s performance in the series opener.
“extremely good, extremely delighted with the way we fought all week. We were under pressure on the second day, 40 for 3, so going from there to a very respectable lead was great. You need a little luck along the road (in Harry Brook’s innings), but you also need to make the innings matter when the opposition loses catches. He’s a fantastic player and batter who is always looking to put pressure on the opposing team.
Brydon Carse was named Player of the Match after taking ten wickets in two innings. Stokes can’t be happier for the 29-year-old.
“Amazing, I’ve known Brydon from his Durham days and know his talent, so to watch him play so well is incredible. He always does his best with the ball and at all times. Chasing such types of targets can be challenging, but everyone saw how we approached the task. Bethell (Jacob) has previously played in this manner in the white-ball style, and he believed he could score swiftly.
