Joe Root Surpasses Dravid and Smith with 37th Test Century

Joe Root Achieves Milestone at Lord's

On Friday, senior England batsman Joe Root celebrated his 37th Test century, surpassing the records of former Indian captain Rahul Dravid and current Australian star Steve Smith, both of whom have 36 centuries in Test cricket.

Root reached this milestone during the second day of the third Test against India at Lord's, striking a boundary off Jasprit Bumrah that sent him past the landmark. However, Bumrah eventually claimed Root's wicket, bowling him out for 104 runs off 199 balls, which included 10 boundaries.

Leading the all-time list for Test centuries is Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar with 51, followed by Jacques Kallis with 45, Ricky Ponting with 41, and Kumar Sangakkara with 38.

In addition, Root matched Smith's record for the most centuries against India in Test matches, with both players now having 11 tons against the Indian side.

West Indies greats Sir Gary Sobers, Viv Richards, and former Australian captain Ponting follow closely behind, each with eight centuries against India.

Root achieved this remarkable feat in 60 innings, while Smith accomplished it in just 46 innings.

The stylish right-handed batsman also became the third English player to score three consecutive centuries at Lord's, joining the ranks of Michael Vaughan (2004-05) and Sir Jack 'Master' Hobbs (1912-1926). Notably, only Dilip Vengsarkar has achieved a hat-trick of centuries at this historic venue (1979, 1982, 1986).

In his previous two innings at Lord's, Root scored 143 and 103, making this century his eighth at the iconic ground, the highest by any player in history.

Former England captains Vaughan and Graham Gooch are tied for second place with six centuries each at Lord's.