Joe Root is playing for England in the four-day Test against Zimbabwe currently underway at the Trent Bridge in Nottingham, and during the third session of the opening day’s play, he entered his name in the history books by becoming the fastest batter in the world to score 13,000 runs in Test cricket. The ongoing match in Nottingham is Root’s 153rd Test for England. Root needed 28 runs against Zimbabwe to complete 13,000 runs in Tests, and he achieved the objective by taking a single on the first ball of the 80th over of England’s first innings bowled by Victor Nyauchi on Thursday (May 22). Root broke Jacques Kallis’ record, who, during his playing days, completed 13,000 Test runs in his 159th match. Fastest to 13,000 runs in Tests (matches) Joe Root (England) – 153* Jacques Kallis (South Africa) – 159 Rahul Dravid (India) – 160 Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 162 Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 163 However, in terms of innings taken, Root is the slowest batter. Fastest to 13,000 runs in Tests (innings) Sachin Tendulkar (India) – 266 Jacques Kallis (South Africa) – 269 Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 275 Rahul Dravid (India) – 277 Joe Root (England) – 279* Root is the first English and overall fifth batter in the world to score 13,000 runs in Test cricket. The former England Test captain made his red-ball debut against India in Nagpur on December 13, 2012, and in the last 13 years, has established himself as one of the greatest batters of all time. Root has scored more than 2000 runs in Test cricket against Australia and India and he also has more than 1000 runs to his name against New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies. Root’s record in Test cricket New Zealand South Africa West Indies Root, who is the leading run scorer in the World Test Championship (WTC) history, will be a key player for England in the next couple of months. His form with the bat will play a big role in England’s five-match home series against India, which is set to start on June 20 in Leeds. During the India-England series, Root will have a chance to become the second leading run-getter in Test cricket and also become the first player to score 7000 runs in WTC.