Joe Root continued his prolific run-scoring dominance against India as he secured his 37th Test hundred with his first runs of Day 2’s play in the Lord’s Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy on Friday.
Steering Jasprit Bumrah for a streaky four through gully off the first ball after resuming play on 99 not out, the 34-year-old Root reached his 11th century against India and a record eighth Test ton at the hallowed home of cricket. The former England captain, who is inching closer to Sachin Tendulkar’s summit of 15,921 runs, became only the fifth batter after the India batting legend, Ponting, Kallis and Kumar Sangakkara to record 37 hundreds in the format. Root also shattered several significant records as he made his first century of the ongoing five-match series.
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Most Test hundreds against India – Root equals Smith
Root equalled Steve Smith for the record of most Test centuries against India with his 11th century. While Smith has 11 such scores in only 46 innings, Root has reached the mark in his 60th innings after becoming the first batter to smash 3000 Test runs against India. While Smith averages (58.90) against India, Root stands in a comparable range with marginal decimal differences at 58.73. Only three players in history have recorded more Test centuries against a single team in history, dominated by Don Bradman’s 19 centuries against England.
Most Test hundreds against India
Joe Root – 11 (60 innings)*
Steve Smith – 11 (46 innings)
Garry Sobers – 8 (30 innings)
Most Test hundreds – Root pips Steve Smith the top active century-maker
With his 37th Test century, Root leapfrogged Steve Smith as the most prolific century-maker in Tests among active players. Only Tendulkar (51), Kallis (45), Ponting (41) and Sangakkara (38) have recorded more three-figure scores.
| Player | Mat | Inns | Runs | 100 |
| Sachin Tendulkar (IND) | 200 | 329 | 15921 | 51 |
| Jacques Kallis (ICC/SA) | 166 | 280 | 13289 | 45 |
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 168 | 287 | 13378 | 41 |
| Kumar Sangakkara (SL) | 134 | 233 | 12400 | 38 |
| Joe Root (ENG) | 156* | 284 | 13218 | 37 |
| Steve Smith (AUS) | 118 | 210 | 10424 | 36 |
| Rahul Dravid (ICC/IND) | 164 | 286 | 13288 | 36 |
Most hundreds at Lord’s
Starting the Test as the most prolific run-scorer at Lord’s, Root extended his dominance at the iconic London venue with his eighth Test century in only 41 appearances at the ground, the most among all batters in history.
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| Most Test hundreds at Lord’s | ||||
| Player | Span | Mat | Inns | 100s |
| JE Root (ENG) | 2013-2025 | 23 | 41 | 8 |
| GA Gooch (ENG) | 1975-1994 | 21 | 39 | 6 |
| MP Vaughan (ENG) | 2000-2008 | 12 | 19 | 6 |
| KP Pietersen (ENG) | 2005-2013 | 15 | 25 | 5 |
| AJ Strauss (ENG) | 2004-2012 | 18 | 31 | 5 |
Root’s Test hundreds against India
| Runs | BF | Ground | Start Date |
| 218 | 377 | Chennai | 5 Feb 2021 |
| 180* | 321 | Lord’s | 12 Aug 2021 |
| 154* | 295 | Nottingham | 9 Jul 2014 |
| 149* | 165 | The Oval | 15 Aug 2014 |
| 142* | 173 | Birmingham | 1 Jul 2022 |
| 125 | 190 | The Oval | 7 Sep 2018 |
| 124 | 180 | Rajkot | 9 Nov 2016 |
| 122* | 274 | Ranchi | 23 Feb 2024 |
| 121 | 165 | Leeds | 25 Aug 2021 |
| 109 | 172 | Nottingham | 4 Aug 2021 |
| 103* (batting) | 195 | Lord’s | 10 Jul 2025 |
