Joe Root played an unbeaten 115-run knock to help England defeat NZ© AFP
Right-handed batter Joe Root brought out his best when the odds were stacked against England in the Lord’s Test against New Zealand and his unbeaten century helped the Ben Stokes-led side go 1-0 up in the three-match series. Root brought up his ton on Day 4 of the first Test and along the way, he also registered 10,000 runs in Test cricket. As soon as Root brought up the landmark, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly hailed the batter, calling him an all-time great.
“Joe Roooooooot ..what a player what a knock under pressure ..an all time great ..@bcci @icc,” tweeted Ganguly.
Joe Roooooooot ..what a player what a knock under pressure ..an all time great ..@bcci @icc
— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) June 5, 2022
Root is just the second England batter to register 10,000 Test runs after Alastair Cook.
In the first Test against New Zealand, England were set a target of 277 and the hosts were left in a spot of bother at 69/4 in the 20th over.
However, Root and Ben Stokes joined forces and the duo put on 90 runs for the fifth wicket. Stokes then lost his wicket after scoring 54 and the match was once again in the balance with England at 159/5.
Wicketkeeper-batter Ben Foakes then came out to the middle and he partnered Root to put together an unbeaten stand of 120 runs for the sixth wicket to take England over the line by five wickets.
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In the end, Root and Foakes remained unbeaten on 115 and 32, respectively.
England and New Zealand will now square off in the second Test at Trent Bridge, beginning June 10.
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