England talisman Joe Root registered his name in the history books for another reason as he surpassed the great Sachin Tendulkar in the list of batters with the most number of runs in the 4th innings of Test cricket. Root claimed the No. 1 spot in the first Test against New Zealand which England won handsomely by 8 wickets. Root didn’t quite get going when he first got the opportunity to bat and was dismissed for a duck. However, he did better on the second occasion, scoring 23 runs off 15 balls while remaining unbeaten.

Before the start of the match, Tendulkar held the record of scoring the most number of runs in the 4th innings of the Test, having scored 1625 runs in his career. However, Root now has 1630 runs to his name in the 4th innings of Tests.

Most Runs In 4th Innings Of Test Career:

1630 – Joe Root

1625 – Sachin Tendulkar

1611 – Alastair Cook

1611 – Graeme Smith

1580 – Shivnarine Chanderpaul

England captain Ben Stokes was elated with the way his team performed in the series opener.

“Very good, very happy with the way we fought the entire week. We were under pressure on the second day, 40 for 3, to go from then and get to a very likeable lead was good. You need a bit of luck on the way (on Harry Brook‘s innings), but you need to make the innings count when the opposition drops catches. He’s an incredible player, an incredible batter who constantly looks to put the pressure on the opposition at all times.

Brydon Carse was the named the Player of the Match for his 10-wicket haul in the match (across two innings). Stokes couldn’t be happier for the 29-year-old.

“Amazing, I’ve known Brydon since his Durham days, know his potential, to see him perform so well is amazing. He always gives his best with the ball and at all times. Chasing those sort of targets can be difficult, but everyone saw how we went about chasing them. Bethell (Jacob) has played in this manner in the white-ball format and he backed himself to score quickly.”