England captain Joe Root scored 66 in 112 balls on Day 2 of the 1st Test vs Pakistan at Headingley in Leeds on Thursday.
Published: August 21, 2026, 8:41 AM IST
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England captain Joe Root en route to scoring 66 vs Pakistan on Day 2 of 1st Test(Source: X)
ENG vs PAK 2026 1st Test: England skipper Joe Root was leading his side in Test cricket for the 66th time as the home team looked to dominate Pakistan on Day 2 of the 1st Test at the Headingley in Leeds on ThursdayRoot continued from where he left off on the opening day after another delayed start due to rain, nothing up his 68th fifty in Test cricket in his 167th match.
Root’s half-century equalled the incredible world record held by Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar in TestsOnly Root and Tendulkar now have 68 fifties in Test cricket so farIn addition to 68 fifties, Tendulkar also notched up 51 centuries – the highest-ever in the format.
The England skipper in comparison has 41 Test tons to his name while scoring 14180 runs at an average of 50.64Tendulkar holds the record of being the highest run-scorer in history of Test cricket with 15921 runs in 200 Tests at an average of 53.78.
Joe Root is Father of Indian Now he’s Smashing Another Tapiya like Ali pic.twitter.com/OV49QZAXjX
— Usman (@UsmanOffical56) August 20, 2026
Root brought up his 68th Test fifty on Day 2 before being dismissed for 66 off 112 deliveriesHis innings included 10 boundaries.
Former West Indies batter Shivnarine Chanderpaul is third in the list with 66 fifties, while former Australia captain Allan Border and India’s Rahul Dravid have 63 half-centuries each.
Here are the top 5 batters with most fifties in Test cricket…
| Name | Country | Runs | 100s | 50s |
| Sachin Tendulkar | India | 15921 | 51 | 68 |
| Joe Root | England | 14180 | 41 | 68 |
| Shivnarine Chanderpaul | West Indies | 11867 | 30 | 66 |
| Rahul Dravid | India | 13288 | 36 | 63 |
| Allan Border | Australia | 11174 | 27 | 63 |
Root (42) also moved up in the list of 50-plus scores as captain in Tests, placing him fifth ahead of former West Indies skipper Clive LloydFormer South Africa captain Graeme Smith leads the chart with 61 fifties, followed by Ricky Ponting (54), Border (51) and Pakistan’s Misbah-ul-Haq (43).
The England captain put on 150 runs for the third wicket with debutant Jordan Cox to take the hosts into the lead on the second dayCox looked set for a maiden Test ton before being bowled by Pakistan left-arm spinner Ali Usman for 73 off 100 balls with 14 boundaries.
Root was dismissed in the very next over after Cox, falling leg-before to Khurram Shahzad for 66 off 112 balls with the score at 202 for 4Harry Brook then put on 120 runs for the sixth wicket with all-rounder Dan Lawrence, who was making a comeback into Test cricket.
However, Brook fell short of his maiden Test hundred at his home ground in Headingley for the second year in a row, bowled by Ali Usman for 91 off 93 balls with 13 fours to his nameLawrence was also dismissed by Usman, caught behind for 51 off 79 balls with 9 fours.
Pakistan’s Ali Usman completed his maiden five-wicket haul in his second Test, ending Day 2 at 5/92 in 23 overEngland went to stumps at 366 for 8 with an overall lead of 195 runs.
Earlier, Pakistan were bowled out for 171 in their first innings after England won the toss and opted to bowlOllie Robinson and Josh Tongue starred with the ball, claiming five wickets apieceRobinson finished with 5/51, while Tongue returned figures of 5/46.
