Veteran England batter Joe Root has registered another astonishing record to his beautiful international career, overtaking legendary Sachin Tendulkar to become the second-fastest cricketer to knock off 23,000 international runs. He reached the landmark achievement during the first ODI against Sri Lanka on Tuesday in Durham.
The England Test captain accomplished the record in his 521st international innings, while Tendulkar had claimed the record in 522 innings. Virat Kohli, meanwhile, leads the list after reaching the milestone in 490 innings. Root headed into the opening ODI against Sri Lanka with three runs short of the mammoth milestone, and he did it in spectacular fashion after tonking a splendid boundary. With this, Root also became only the first Englishman and the eighth batter overall to go beyond 23,000 international runs, joining a distinguished group of cricketers featuring Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Ricky Ponting, and Jacques Kallis.
During the first ODI against Sri Lanka, Root contributed with a magnificent knock of 44 off 52 as England clinched an 89-run win to go 1-0 up in the three-match series. England had bowled Sri Lanka out for 176 in 37 overs after setting a target of 266.