Joe Root Shines At Lord’s With Record-Breaking Century, Surpasses Dravid And Gooch In Historic Test Performance

Joe Root delivered yet another historic performance at Lord’s, reinforcing his legacy as one of England’s greatest Test cricketers. With a composed 104-run innings against India in the ongoing third Test, Root not only guided his team to a strong position but also shattered multiple long-standing records across batting and fielding.

Resuming on 99*, Root reached his 37th Test century off the first ball of day two with a boundary, further stamping his authority at the iconic venue. He was eventually dismissed for 104 from 199 balls by Jasprit Bumrah, marking the 11th time the Indian pacer has removed him. Root’s innings featured 10 boundaries and was a masterclass in patience and technique.

With this hundred, Root surpassed Australia’s Steve Smith and India’s Rahul Dravid (both with 36 centuries) to become the fifth-highest century scorer in Test history. Only Sachin Tendulkar (51), Jacques Kallis (45), Ricky Ponting (41), and Kumar Sangakkara (38) have more. Root also matched South African great Hashim Amla with 55 international centuries, placing them jointly at sixth on the all-time list across formats.

At Lord’s, Root’s record is unmatched. He now has 2,531 runs in 33 matches at an average of 53.85, including nine centuries and nine fifties. In Test cricket alone at the ground, Root has scored 2,126 runs in 23 matches with an average of 55.94, including eight centuries. His last three Test scores at Lord’s read 143, 103, and 100*, making him only the third batter to score three consecutive centuries at the venue after Jack Hobbs and Michael Vaughan.

Beyond the bat, Root made history in the field as well. On day two, he took a spectacular diving catch at first slip to dismiss Karun Nair off Ben Stokes’ bowling, marking his 211th catch in Test cricket as a non-wicketkeeper. This feat broke the previous world record held by Rahul Dravid, who had taken 210 catches in the same category. With this, Root became the all-time leader in outfield catches in Test cricket, ahead of Dravid and Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene (205).

Root’s brilliance came during a first innings where England steadily built their total. After finishing day one at 251/4, Root and captain Ben Stokes extended their stand to 88 runs before Bumrah dismissed Stokes for 44. Following Root’s dismissal, England briefly stumbled, losing Chris Woakes for a golden duck. However, a counter-attacking partnership between debutant Jamie Smith (51*) and Brydon Carse (33*) helped the hosts end the first session on day two at 353/7. Their unbeaten 82-run stand ensured England maintained momentum.

Root’s dominance over India also reached a new peak as he became the first player in history to score more than 3000 Test runs against India. He now has 3,054 runs in 33 Tests against them, including 11 centuries—tying Steve Smith for the most hundreds by any player against India in Tests.

Even in an era of aggressive ‘Bazball’ cricket, Root’s traditional, calculated style continues to deliver. England’s T20-style flair took a backseat during the innings, as Root and his teammates resorted to more measured batting, especially on day one where the run rate hovered around 3 runs per over. Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, and Bumrah picked up wickets for India, but Root’s calmness held England’s innings together.