Thu Dec 04 11:40:00 UTC 2025: Headline: Root Closes in on Tendulkar’s Record After Reaching Milestone in Gabba Test
Gabba, Australia – England’s star batsman, Joe Root, has surpassed West Indies legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul to become the second-highest scorer of half-centuries in Test cricket. Root achieved the milestone during the first innings of the ongoing day-night Test match against Australia at the Gabba, notching his 67th Test fifty.
With this feat, Root is now within touching distance of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar’s world record of 68 Test half-centuries. He needs just two more to equal and three to surpass the Indian maestro’s record, putting him on the verge of etching his name further into cricketing history.
Root’s fifty at the Gabba also propelled him up the charts for most 50+ scores in Test cricket. He now has 106, but Tendulkar still leads this statistic with an impressive 119 scores of 50 or more.
At the time of reporting, England were 206 for 4 after 52 overs, having won the toss and elected to bat. Root remained unbeaten on 73 off 145 balls, alongside Ben Stokes who was not out on 19. Opener Zak Crawley had earlier contributed a well-made 76, while Mitchell Starc has taken 3 wickets for Australia.
First Piper 