Ashes 2021: England skipper Joe Root surpasses Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar's THIS record

Surely England has not started off their Ashes 2021 tour on a happy note after losing the first Test and even getting penalised for a slow over-rate, however, skipper Joe Root has been making sure to contribute to the team as much as he can against Australia.

On Day 3 of the second Test in Adelaide, the captain surpassed India batting legends Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar to become the 5th highest run-scorer in Tests in a calendar year. 

The batter went past Tendulkar who had registered 1562 runs in a single year in Tests in 2010 and also went past Gavaskar (1555 runs in 1979) earlier in the day.

The list contains former Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Yousuf, West Indies great Viv Richards, former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith and former Australia skipper Michael Clarke ahead of Root.

Most runs scored in a calendar year by batters in Tests:

Mohamamd Yousuf (2006): 1788 runs

Viv Richards (1976): 1710 runs

Graeme Smith (2008): 1656

Michael Clarke (2012): 1595

Joe Root (2021): 1563* runs

Sachin Tendulkar (2010): 1562 runs

Sunil Gavaskar (1979): 1555 runs

Joe Root is such a joy to watch. Looks easy on the eyes but scores some tough runs. One of the the best players of spin, and currently the best among usual suspects in Kohli, Smith and Williamson. What a year he's having, single-handedly carrying the English batting. #Ashes pic.twitter.com/29WUQxAGS7

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) December 18, 2021

Notably, in the first Ashes Test at Gabba, Root had surpassed former England captain Michael Vaughan to become the leading run-getter from England in a single calendar year in Test cricket.

As far as the Ashes is concerned, the Aussies are in control so far as the English side is trailing by 294 runs. The visitors have already lost six wickets with Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes batting at the crease.