Joe Root smashed his 33rd Test hundred to go level with England legend Alastair Cook on century count.
Sri Lanka made a good start with the ball at Lord’s after opting to bowl first, only for their plans to be thwarted by Joe Root, who notched up a record 33rd Test century.
Root, who has been in astounding form, walked in to bat at 42/2 and dominated the Lankan attack with Harry Brook and later Jamie Smith offering some company.
The England No.4 scored at a brisk rate and the only half-chance he offered was when an inside edge off Milan Rathnayake evaded the stumps and raced for a boundary.
With this ton, Root now goes level with Alastair Cook for the most Test centuries by an Englishman.
No contemporary Test batter has as many hundreds, and in the overall list, Root has made a notable entry as the joint-tenth highest century-maker.
Root, now 33, is almost level with the number of hundreds Sachin Tendulkar had before turning 34 (35 Test hundreds).
Root only recently scored his 12,000th Test run to become the seventh-highest run-scorer of all time and the 33-year-old has second-placed Ponting and Tendulkar’s overall record within sight.
