On the second day of the first Test between England and Pakistan on Tuesday, October 8, Joe Root surpassed 1000 Test runs in a calendar year for the fifth time in his career. He is now close to surpassing the legendary Sachin Tendulkar's record, who accomplished this milestone across six calendar years.

The Englishman joined an elite group of players, including Brian Lara, Matthew Hayden, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, and Alastair Cook, who have scored over 1000 Test runs in five calendar years, with Sachin Tendulkar leading the pack. Root also made history as the first cricketer to reach 5,000 runs in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC), achieving this milestone during the first Test with his 27th run of the innings. His remarkable consistency and ability to score heavily have been evident since the start of the WTC.

He has accumulated 16 centuries and 20 half-centuries in the World Test Championship, making him the leading run-scorer by a significant margin. Australia's Marnus Labuschagne follows with 3,904 runs, further highlighting Root's dominance. Additionally, he holds the record for the most centuries in WTC history.

In the first 2019-21 WTC Cycle, Root ended as the second-highest run-getter with 1,660 runs at an average of 47.42, including three centuries and eight half-centuries. In the 2021-23 edition, Root maintained his outstanding form scoring 1,915 runs over 22 Tests—no other batsman even approached the 1,700-run mark during that period. His eight centuries were also the most by any player in that cycle.

In the ongoing Test match against England, Pakistan's hosts scored 556 runs in their first innings, featuring centuries from captain Shan Masood, opener Abdullah Shafique and all-rounder Agha Salman. This marked only the fourth instance of three Pakistani players scoring centuries in the same innings of a Test against England.

Masood and Shafique formed a strong partnership, putting together 253 runs for the second wicket, with Masood taking on the aggressive role. He ended a century drought that lasted over 1500 days, reaching his ton off just 102 balls. Abdullah secured his fourth Test century with a six off Jack Leach on Day 1. While both of these batsmen were dismissed on the first day, Saud Shakeel and Agha Salman continued the momentum on Day 2. Shakeel fell short of a century, scoring 82, while Salman achieved his century shortly before Pakistan was all out in the third session of the second day. Pakistan were bowled out for 556 and England are presently batting at 96/1.

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