England cricket star Joe Root made history on Day 2 of the first Test match against Pakistan in Multan by becoming the first batter to score 5000 runs in the World Test Championship (WTC). Root achieved this milestone after scoring 32 runs off 54 balls, including two fours. Coming into the match needing just 27 runs, he now holds a total of 5005 runs in 59 matches, outpacing Australia's Marnus Labuschagne, who is second with 3904 runs, and Steve Smith, who sits third with 3484 runs.

Root's achievement comes as he also inches closer to matching Sachin Tendulkar's record for the most calendar years with over 1000 Test runs. After Pakistan set a formidable target with a total of 556 runs—backed by centuries from Salman Ali Agha (104*), Abdullah Shafique (102), and captain Shan Masood (151)—Root stepped in to stabilize England's innings following the early loss of stand-in captain Ollie Pope to Naseem Shah.

Approaching each delivery with caution, Root focused on rotating the strike and finding boundaries when possible, finishing the innings unbeaten with a score of 32. His performance adds to an impressive 2024, in which he has surpassed 1000 Test runs, marking the fifth calendar year in which he has achieved this feat.

With five years of scoring over 1000 runs, Root is now tied with cricket legends Brian Lara, Matthew Hayden, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, and Alastair Cook. He needs just one more year of such performance to equal Sachin Tendulkar, who holds the record with six calendar years exceeding the 1000-run mark in Test cricket.

As Root continues to break records, cricket fans eagerly await his next milestones in the ongoing series.