Joe Root Equals Ricky Ponting’s Century Record

Sydney: England’s batting mainstay Joe Root once again underlined his mastery of the Ashes as he gone level with Ricky Ponting in equal-third in the all-time men’s Test century list, bringing up his 41st hundred on day two of the Sydney Test.

Root equalled Ponting’s total of 41 Test centuries, doing so in fewer matches. Ponting achieved the feat across 168 Tests between 1995 and 2012, while Root reached the same mark in his 163rd appearance since debuting against India in Nagpur in December 2012. The knock was also the first international century of the 2026 calendar year.

It’s the second century for Root on the tour who had curiously not reached the magical mark in 14 Test matches held in Australia before the current series.

Only Sachin Tendulkar (51) and Jacques Kallis (45) have scored more Test hundreds than Root.

The former England skipper, who is closing in on 14,000 runs in Test, is currently the second-highest run scorer in the format and has set his sights on Tendulkar’s record tally of 15,921 runs. Agencies

Most centuries in Test:

Sachin Tendulkar -        51 centuries in 329 innings

Jacques Kallis -              45 centuries in 280 innings

Ricky Ponting -               41 centuries in 287 innings

Joe Root -                        41 centuries in 297 innings

Kumar Sangakkara -     38 centuries in 233 innings

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