Joe Root, one of England's premier and most experienced batsmen, has achieved yet another remarkable milestone in limited-overs cricket. Root has accomplished a feat in this format that no other English player has ever managed before. While he already holds numerous records in Test cricket, he has now etched his name in the history books within the ODI format. He is now the first and only English batsman to complete eight thousand runs in One Day Internationals.
Completing eight thousand runs against Sri Lanka
The England cricket team is currently touring Pakistan, where a tri-series is underway. While playing against Sri Lanka in this very series, Joe Root penned a new chapter in his career. Root scored 69 runs from 66 balls, striking eight boundaries during his knock. With this effort, he successfully crossed the eight-thousand-run mark in ODIs. Prior to this, the record for most runs for England in ODIs was held by Eoin Morgan, who accumulated 6957 runs across 225 matches. Root has now become the pioneer for English batsmen to reach the seven-thousand and subsequently the eight-thousand-run milestones.
Fourth fastest batsman in the world to reach eight thousand ODI runs
Root's achievement extends beyond national boundaries, placing him among the elite globally. He has become the fourth-fastest batsman in the world to reach eight thousand runs in ODIs. The record for the fastest to this milestone belongs to Virat Kohli, who reached the eight-thousand-run mark in 175 innings back in 2017. South Africa's Hashim Amla occupies the second spot, having reached the milestone in 175 innings in 2019, while AB de Villiers took 182 innings in 2015. Root has now completed eight thousand runs in 197 innings, surpassing Sourav Ganguly, who took 200 innings to reach the exact same milestone.
Harry Brook smashes fastest double century in the same match
While the match proved historic for Joe Root, the spotlight was ultimately stolen by Harry Brook, who hammered a double century in the exact same fixture. Harry Brook is now the batsman with the fastest double century in ODIs, reaching the 200-run mark in just 114 balls. The record was previously held by Shubman Gill, who had reached a double century off 117 balls just days prior.
