Why Joe Root can go past Sachin Tendulkar's tally of fifties in Tests with 'ease'

So, it has been confirmed. Joe Root loves batting against Sri Lanka. Even more, he loves batting against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. Well, if you have any doubts regarding this, let us do some number crunching so that your doubts are put to rest.

In the 18 innings that he has played against Sri Lanka in Tests, Root has scored 1001 runs at an average of 58.88. And, in the Tests that he has played in Sri Lanka, Root has scored 655 runs at an imposing average of 65.50. And yet again, in the first innings of the second Test against the Islanders at Galle, the England skipper sent the hosts on a leather hunt, scoring 186 off 309 deliveries to help his side to post a six-wicket victory and whitewash the Islanders in their own backyard.

Now, there is another important detail to note here. Root has now scored 49 fifties in Test cricket, and among active cricketers, he has scored the most number of half-centuries. And, if he scores 20 more fifties, he will go past Sachin Tendulkar’s long-standing record of 68 fifties in Test cricket.

Well, if you can challenge the records of the man called the ‘God of cricket’, you should surely be a legend yourself. And without doubt, Root is the lynchpin of England’s batting line up and one of the greatest to have touched the willow for his country. In this article, let us focus on why Root can go past Tendulkar’s tally of fifties in Tests, and go past the ‘Master Blaster’ with ease.

Sachin Tendulkar and Joe Root- An Overview

At the outset, let us take a look at the overall numbers of Joe Root and Sachin Tendulkar. The table below will illustrate the same.

From the above table, we can see that Root is more proficient than Tendulkar in notching up fifties in Tests. While Tendulkar scored 68 fifties in 329 innings, which translates to a fifty every 4.84 innings, Root has already scored 49 half-centuries from just 181 innings, which means that he scores a fifty every 3.69 innings in the whites. Without any doubt, Root is way ahead of Tendulkar in notching up fifties in Tests.

A comparison of Root and Tendulkar after 99 Tests

Root has now played 99 Test matches for England. In the table below, let us take a look at the records of Root and Tendulkar after 99 Tests.

After 99 Tests, Tendulkar is ahead of Root in almost every parameter. He had scored more runs than Root, averaged way higher than Root, and had even scored 11 hundreds more than the England skipper. But then, Tendulkar is lagging behind Root in the parameter that is crucial in this article. After 99 Tests, Tendulkar had scored only 33 half-centuries. On the other hand, Root is leading Tendulkar by 16 fifties at the same point, having already notched up 49 such scores in Tests.

A comparison of Root and Tendulkar after 30 years and 27 days

Root celebrated his 30th birthday 27 days back, on 30th December 2020. Now, let us go ahead and analyze the numbers of Root and Tendulkar after 30 years and 27 days.

Yet again, Tendulkar dwarfs Root in every parameter other than the one that is important in the discussion. At the same age as Root, Tendulkar had scored just 35 fifties in Tests, and Root has already scored 49 of them. In other words, Root has played 6 Test matches lesser than Tendulkar and has scored 14 fifties more than India’s master batsman at the same age.

 In Conclusion

With his incredible run of scores against Sri Lanka, Root has sounded a warning to the Indian side that he is well prepared for the grueling Test series in India and will come hard at the Indian bowlers. And on a lighter note, he has also sounded a warning to Tendulkar, that he is coming for the master’s record of the most number of fifties in the longest format of the game.

And, with the amount of Test cricket that England are slating to play, one of the many records that Tendulkar holds in Test cricket is in danger of being overhauled by Root. And seeing the way things stand at the moment, Root will overhaul Tendulkar’s tally of half-centuries in Tests with relative ease.

Note: All the stats have been taken from cricinfo, cricbuzz and Howstat cricket and have been updated as on 26th January 2021