Pak vs Eng, 1st Test: Double centurion Joe Root becomes first Englishman to score 20k int'l runs

England batter Joe Root continued to break records duringhis marathon knock versus Pakistan on Day 4 of the Multan Test on Thursday (Oct 10). At lunch on the penultimate day, England reached 658/3, with a lead of 102 in reply to Pakistan's 556, courtesy of an unbroken 409-run fourth-wicket stand between double centurions Joe Root (259*) and Harry Brook (218*). Root, thus, continued to break records as he became the first-ever Englishman to reach 20,000 international runs. Moreover, he is alsothe first-ever visiting player with a Test double century in India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.

Most International Runs For England

Joe Root - 20076*

Alastair Cook - 15,737

Kevin Pietersen - 13,779

Ian Bell - 13,331

Graham Gooch - 13,190

Root also became the batter withsecond joint-most double hundreds away from home (5). He is tied with South Africa's Graeme Smith whereas the list is led by stalwarts such as Sir Don Bradman, Brian Lara, Kumar Sangakkara, etc.

Most double hundreds away from home

5 - Don Bradman

5 - Wally Hammond

5 - Brian Lara

5 - Kumar Sangakkara

5 - Younis Khan

4 - Graeme Smith

4 - Joe Root*

The former English captain also has second joint-most Test double hundreds in most countries.

Test double hundreds in most countries

6 - Kumar Sangakkara

6 - Younis Khan

5 - Brian Lara

5 - Joe Root*

Given the Multan pitch is offering no support to the bowlers, England look set to take a daunting lead and would aim for Pakistan to crumble under pressure in the second innings. At the moment, Root is on the verge of scoring a triple ton and can also break Lara's record of the highest-ever score by a batter in whites (400 not out). Brook, on the other hand, will also look to surpass the 300-run mark post lunch.