'An all time great': Ganguly, Vaughan & others hail Joe Root as he completes 10,000 runs in Test cricket

Joe Root slammed an unbeaten century to help England chase down the target of 277 runs on Day 4 of the first Test against New Zealand at the Lord's Cricket Ground in London and take a 1-0 lead in the series. The former England captain also became only the second batter from his country to complete the milestone of 10,000 runs in Test cricket with his stupendous ton. Root has now become the join-youngest to reach the milestone of 10,000 runs in the longest format of the game.

Asked to chase 277 runs in their second innings, England were in a spot of bother on Day 3 having lost four wickets inside 70 runs with the likes of Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope and Jonny Bairstow all back in the hut cheaply. Root combined with captain Ben Stokes to add 90 runs for the 5th wicket before taking the hosts over the line on Day 4.

Root completed his century in the morning session on Day 4 and added an unbeaten partnership of 120 runs with wicket-keeper batter Ben Foakes (32) to help England chase down the target comfortably and win the game by five wickets.

En route to his knock, Root became the second England batter after the legendary Alastair Cook to complete 10,000 runs in Test cricket. He also joined Cook in becoming the joint-youngest to the feat. Root, who was born on December 30, 1990, has completed the feat of 10,000 runs at the age of 31 years, 5 months and 5 days. Cook was also 31 years, 5 months and 5 days old when he went past the 10,000 run mark in Tests.

Also Read:Joe Root slams ton to help England thrash New Zealand by 5 wickets in 1st Test at Lord's

Root was hailed by many on social media for his illustrious feat as the likes of Sourav Ganguly, Michael Vaughan, VVS Laxman and others lauded the England batter for his brilliant knock and terrific achievement. Ganguly also labelled Root as an all-time great.

Joe Roooooooot ..what a player what a knock under pressure ..an all time great ..@bcci @icc — Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) June 5, 2022

No better feeling than a match-winning 100 in a pressure run chase. Many congratulations to @root66 on an incredible 100 and on reaching 10000 Test runs, massive achievement. #ENGvNZ pic.twitter.com/1mvfdwrtyv — VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) June 5, 2022

Englands most complete all round Batter of all time .. 10000 runs & to do it with a match winning 100 is incredible .. Well done @root66 #Lords — Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) June 5, 2022

Joe Root has 10,000 Test runs. And he's just 31 Well played and congratulations @root66 #ENGvNZ pic.twitter.com/l5dDL5v7Iz — Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) June 5, 2022

At 31, Root has been absolutely phenomenal in Test cricket and has been churning out runs consistently for England in the whites. He has already breached the 10,000 run mark and is among the few active batters in the world at present who can eaye Sachin Tendulkar's record of most runs in Test cricket history.

Also Read:'Intentionally wanted to hit Sachin': Akhtar recalls his fiery spell vs Tendulkar in 2006 Karachi Test

Tendulkar scored a whopping 15,921 runs in 200 Test matches in his illustrious career. Root currently has10015 runs to his name in 118 Tests for England. He needs another 5,907 runs to go past the Master Blaster and create history. Root has now scored 26 centuries in his Test career so far.