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As England prepare for their home Test match series against India, plenty of eyeballs will be on star batter Joe Root, for whom, scoring runs at a monstrous rate and converting them into record-breaking centuries has become a habit during the decade of the 2020s.
During this mouth-watering five-match series starting from June 20, Root will continue his pursuit of two Indian greats. While Root will be chasing legendary Sachin Tendulkar's all-time run tally of 15,921 runs, he will also be aiming to surpass Rahul Dravid to have the highest-ever batting average among all players to have featured in this highly competitive series. Root's run tally stands at 13,006 runs in 153 Tests at an average of 50.80, with 36 centuries and 65 fifties and a best score of 262. He is England's top run-getter in Tests and overall fifth. Even a moderately-scoring series of 373 runs will take him past Australian legend Ricky Ponting (13,378 runs in 168 Tests at an average of 51.85 with 42 tons), making him the second-highest run-getter in Test cricket. Knowing Root's level of dominance against India, nothing is impossible for Root in the space of these five Tests and 10 innings. Against India in 30 Tests, he has made 2,846 runs at an average of 58.08, with 10 centuries and 11 fifties. His best score is 218. In home conditions against India, Root's batting average shoots up to 74.95. He has made 1,574 runs in 15 Tests and 25 innings, seven centuries, and five fifties. His best score is 180*. With batters having at least 1,500 runs in India-England matches, Root has the second-highest average of 58.55, next to Dravid, who has a stunning batting average of 60.93. A century or two could take Root over the Indian icon. Root ended the previous WTC cycle with 1,968 runs in 22 Tests and 40 innings, at an average of 54.66, with seven centuries and seven fifties, best individual score of 262. He would be raring to carry on with this momentum. He could become the first-ever batter to score 6,000 runs in WTC history. He is currently at the top of the charts with 5,543 runs in 64 matches at an average of 51.80, 18 centuries, and 21 fifties in 117 innings. The Test series will kickstart on June 20 at Leeds. The English squad: Ben Stokes (Durham) - Captain, Shoaib Bashir (Somerset), Jacob Bethell (Warwickshire), Harry Brook (Yorkshire), Brydon Carse (Durham), Sam Cook (Essex), Zak Crawley (Kent), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Jamie Overton (Surrey), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Jamie Smith (Surrey), Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire). (ANI)
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