England vs Sri Lanka, 1st Test: Joe Root Closing in on Sachin Tendulkar’s Record with Half-Century

In a historic moment in New Delhi, Joe Root made headlines by breaking the record for the most Test fifties by an English player during the team's victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test in Manchester. With a total of 64 fifties under his belt, Root is now only trailing behind former West Indies player Shivnarine Chanderpaul (66) and legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar (68). Root showcased his exceptional batting skills with a solid 42 in the first innings and then displayed his class during a tense run chase in the second innings to secure the win for his team.

Needing 205 runs to win, Root came in when England were two wickets down for just 56 runs. The former captain scored an unbeaten 62 in 128 balls with two fours to help England go 1-0 up in the series. This was also Root’s 10th fifty-plus score in the fourth innings of a Test match, showcasing his immense mastery and command over this phase of the game.

Above Root are greats like Michael Atherton and Alastair Cook, who have scored 11 half-centuries each in the fourth innings. Speaking about the match, Sri Lanka opted to bat first. Struggling at 113/7, knocks from skipper Dhananjaya de Silva (74, 84b) and Milan Rathnayake (72, 135b) helped the Islanders to 236/10.

Chris Woakes took three wickets for 32 runs for England while his teammate Shoaib Bashir bagged 3/55. In reply, England rode on knocks from Root (42), Harry Brook (56) and a century from Jamie Smith (111, 148b) helped England score 358 all out, thus taking a lead of 122 runs. Ashitha Fernando (4/103) and Prabhat Jayasuriya (3/85) took wickets for Sri Lanka.

In their second innings, Sri Lanka once again found themselves in a bad position, with just 95 runs on board with the top four already in the hut. Veteran Angelo Matthews (65) and Dinesh Chandimal (79) revived the Lankan innings with a 78-run partnership to push Sri Lanka towards a lead.

Later, keeping his fine form, Kamindu Mendis slammed his second Test ton in five innings, scoring 113 runs in 183 balls, with 15 fours and a six to take Sri Lanka past 300. The visitors were all out for 326, giving them a respectable lead of 204 runs. England won the game by five wickets.