England batter Joe Root added another major milestone to his international career during the first ODI against Sri Lanka in Durham. The former England captain became the second fastest batter in international cricket to reach 23,000 runs, completing the landmark in his 521st innings.
Root needed only three runs to reach the 23,000 run mark when he came to the crease. He completed the milestone with a boundary during his innings against Sri Lanka. The achievement moved him ahead of Indian batting great Sachin Tendulkar, who reached 23,000 international runs in 522 innings.
Virat Kohli continues to hold the record for reaching 23,000 international runs in the fewest innings. The Indian batter achieved the milestone in 490 innings. Root is now second on that particular list, followed by Tendulkar, who reached the mark in 522 innings. Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting completed the milestone in 544 innings.
Root's latest achievement also places him among a select group of batters in international cricket. He became only the eighth player in men's international cricket to cross the 23,000 run mark and the first player from England to achieve the feat. The list includes Tendulkar, Kohli, Rahul Dravid, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Ricky Ponting and Jacques Kallis.
The milestone came during an innings in which Root scored 44 runs from 52 deliveries. He struck five boundaries during his stay at the crease and played an important role in England's innings before being dismissed by Sri Lankan debutant Sachindu Colombage.
Root reached the landmark while England were batting first in the opening ODI of their three match series against Sri Lanka. England eventually scored 265 runs, with Harry Brook making 67 and Will Jacks contributing an unbeaten 46. Sri Lanka were later dismissed for 176, giving England an 89 run victory in the first ODI.
Following the milestone, Root's international run tally moved to 23,041. That figure placed him eighth on the all time international run scoring list at the time of the achievement. Rahul Dravid was seventh with 24,208 runs, leaving Root 1,167 runs behind the former India batter.
Root's achievement is particularly notable because his international career has extended across Test cricket, ODIs and T20Is. His consistency across formats has allowed him to become one of England's leading run scorers and one of the most prolific batters in international cricket.
The latest record is also another milestone in Root's continuing statistical comparison with Tendulkar. Root has already moved past several of Tendulkar's records in Test cricket. Earlier in September, Root overtook Tendulkar's record for the most Test half centuries, moving to 69 half centuries compared with Tendulkar's previous mark of 68.
Root is also approaching Tendulkar's Test run record, although a significant gap remains. Root currently has 14,278 Test runs, while Tendulkar finished his Test career with 15,921 runs. Root therefore needs 1,643 more Test runs to move past Tendulkar in that category.
Another major Test record that remains ahead of Root is Tendulkar's appearance record. Tendulkar played 200 Test matches during his international career, while Root had played 169 Tests according to reports following the latest milestone.
Root's ODI record has also been an important part of his career. Before the first ODI against Sri Lanka, he had scored 7,826 runs in the format and had 20 ODI centuries. He is already England's highest run scorer in men's ODI cricket.
The 23,000 international run milestone therefore adds another significant achievement to Root's career. It also places him in an elite group that contains some of the biggest run scorers in the history of international cricket.
At 35, Root continues to play an important role for England across the formats in which he is selected. His latest milestone came during a relatively modest individual score of 44, demonstrating that a player does not necessarily need a century to reach a major career landmark. The three runs he needed to cross 23,000 came during a boundary in his innings against Sri Lanka.
The achievement also provides another statistical comparison between Root, Tendulkar and Kohli. Kohli reached 23,000 international runs in 490 innings, Root took 521 innings and Tendulkar reached the same figure in 522 innings. These figures refer specifically to the number of international innings required to reach the 23,000 run milestone.
Root's position on the overall run scoring list could also change as his career continues. With 23,041 international runs, he was 1,167 runs behind Dravid's 24,208 at the time of the latest milestone. Above Dravid were Kallis, Jayawardene, Ponting, Sangakkara, Kohli and Tendulkar.
For England, Root's record is another indication of his long term contribution to international cricket. He has already established himself as the country's leading ODI run scorer and has accumulated more than 14,000 Test runs.
The first ODI against Sri Lanka ultimately produced two notable developments for Root. England secured an 89 run victory, while Root crossed the 23,000 international run mark and moved ahead of Tendulkar in terms of innings taken to reach the milestone.
Joe Root's latest achievement will now become another important statistic in his international career. With 23,041 runs, he is the eighth player to reach the 23,000 mark and the first Englishman to do so. Virat Kohli remains the fastest to the milestone, while Root has moved ahead of Tendulkar on the fastest to 23,000 innings list.