England captain Joe Root on Saturday smashed the long-standing record of Sachin Tendulkar for most fifties in Test cricket.
Root notched up an unbeaten 62 off 69 balls on the fourth day of the third Test against Pakistan in Birmingham, taking his team to an eight-wicket victory.
This took his tally of half-centuries to 69, one more than the Indian great Tendulkar’s haul of 68. Shivnarine Chanderpaul of West Indies sits in third place with 66 fifties.
The innings ensured Root finished the series on a high after enduring a run that was below his usual standard. Through the series, Root accumulated just 164 runs from five innings and could not score a hundred. He also had two single-digit scores in the series.
Root is also chasing Tendulkar’s record of most runs in the longest format. Tendulkar ended his career with 15,291 runs from 329 innings while Root currently sits with 14,278 runs from 309 innings.
Most fifties in Test cricket
- Joe Root (ENG) – 69
- Sachin Tendulkar (IND) – 68
- Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI) – 66
- Alan Border (AUS) – 63
- Rahul Dravid (IND) – 63
Published on Sep 12, 2026
