"I can see him overhauling Sachin Tendulkar’s record": Alastair Cook on Joe Root

Alastair Cook and Sachin Tendulkar

Former England captain Alastair Cook on Wednesday tipped record-breaking Joe Root to go past Sachin Tendulkar's all-time leading Test runs total.

Root became England's leading run scorer in the longest format on his way to a 35th Test century on Day Three of the first Test against Pakistan in Multan on Wednesday.

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England's Joe Root celebrates his century on Day Three of the first Test against Pakistan in Multan yesterday. Pic/AFP

When Root reached 71 before lunch he passed the previous milestone of 12,472 runs set by his former captain Cook and moved to fifth on the all-time list.

England 492-3 at stumps

Root went on to make an unconquered hundred, anchoring his team to 492-3 in the first Test in Multan. Root was still batting on 176 at the close on Day Three with his partner Harry Brook on 141 not out, taking England within 64 runs of Pakistan's first innings total of 556.

The pair added 243 runs for the unbroken fourth wicket, rebuffing Pakistan's bowling attack on a lifeless pitch that had punished England's bowlers on the first two days.

Indian great Tendulkar tops the chart on 15,921 runs, but Cook said that Root, who is 33, has plenty more years left at the top. "I can see him overhauling Sachin Tendulkar's record," Cook said while commentating on BBC radio.

"You could say Sachin is still the favourite but just. I don't see that happening for Root to lose that hunger and ability to keep driving himself forward for the next couple of years," Cook added.

Stokes is all praise

Root's achievement was hailed by current England captain Stokes, who is sitting out the first Test with an injury. "The selflessness that he has is an incredible attribute for him," Stokes said in a video on the England and Wales Cricket Board's social media channels.

"He always puts the team first, and the fact that he's got so many runs is just a bonus for us. He's an incredible player," he added.

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England batter Joe Root's age

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