Root surpasses Ponting, next in sight is all-time leading run-getter Tendulkar
Manchester, Jul 25 (PTI): The prolific Joe Root on Friday surpassed Australian legend Ricky Ponting's tally to become the second highest run-getter in the history of Test cricket and next in sight of the England batter is Indian icon Sachin Tendulkar who continues to head the list.
On the third day of the fourth Test against India here, Root first leapfrogged legendary Indian Rahul Dravid and South African great Jacques Kallis' aggregate of runs in a space of eight balls and then went past Ponting by steering the ball behind point for a single as the Old Trafford crowd gave him a standing ovation.
Ponting had scored 13378 runs in 168 matches at an average of 51.85, while Tendulkar continues to top the list with 15921 runs.
It was apt that Ponting was in the commentary box when Root went past him. The 34-year-old Root began his Test career with a 73-run knock on debut during England's tour of India back in 2012 at Nagpur.
"Congrats, Joe Root. Magnificent," a delighted Ponting, doing commentary alongside Ravi Shastri, hailed the Yorkshire man.
Root is playing in his 157th Test.
It was some sight as England skipper Ben Stokes, who was also in the middle, raised his bat even before Root could take off his helmet and acknowledged the cheers and applause from the crowd and the players
Earlier, Root entered the history books by breaking the record of most Test centuries against India with his 12th hundred against the Asian giants, against whom he has played in 34 Tests so far.
Root had equalled Australian Steve Smith's record (11 centuries) in the third India-England Test at Lord's last week by scoring a hundred (104 runs from 199 balls) in the first innings.
Overall, the ton at Old Trafford was his 38th in red ball format as he joined former Sri Lanka star Kumar Sangakkara at fourth place in the list of centurions in the game's longest format.
Tendulkar (51), Jacques Kallis (45) and Ponting (41) are ahead of him in the hundred's list.
Presenting the second highest run-getter in Test cricket history 🥁#WTC27 | #ENGvIND ➡️ https://t.co/ZxLl2vea3J pic.twitter.com/Z2WWzaYdm4
— ICC (@ICC) July 25, 2025
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Electorate in 9 states, UTs shrink by 1.70 crore after SIR
New Delhi (PTI): Voter base in nine states and Union territories has shrunk by more than 1.70 crore following the publication of final electoral rolls as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), according to official data.
The data shared by the chief electoral officers of Gujarat, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Goa and Kerala on Saturday showed that their combined voter base stood at over 21.45 crore before the SIR exercise began on October 27 last year.
It shrunk to 19.75 crore after publication of their final electoral rolls this week, a net change of over 1.70 crore electors.
While the exercise, which kept the Election Commission in the spotlight, has been completed in Bihar, it is currently underway in 12 states and Union territories covering nearly 60 crore electors.
The remaining 40 crore electors will be covered in 17 states and five Union territories.
In Assam, a "special revision", instead of SIR, was completed on February 10.
Due to a variety of reasons, the SIR in the nine states and three Union territories have seen frequent tweaking in schedules.
As in Bihar, political parties have approached the Supreme Court challenging the exercise in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
