England's Joe Root equals Virat Kohli, Steve Smith's record

While India's Virat Kohli and Australia's Steve Smith are struggling to find form in the longest format of the game since the past year, their contemporary Joe Root is making head's turn with his blistering tons.

His unbeaten 115 helped England beat New Zealand in the 1st Test and in the following Test match the ex-skipper scored his 2nd consecutive Test hundred, finishing Day 3 at 163 not out vs NZ. He scored his 43rd international ton which also became his fastest 100 (115 balls) in Test cricket.

At the beginning of 2021, Joe Root was 10 centuries behind Steve Smith and Virat Kohli, who had 27 Test tons. In a span of one and a half years, the unstoppable 31-year-old English batter has equalled their record of scoring maximum tons among the active players.

In January 2021, the relentless English ace had just 17 centuries while Kohli and Smith had 27. Among the Fab 4, only Root is enjoying the good fortune. Kohli's last ton came in 2019, Smith reached the 3-figure mark in January 2021, and for Kane Williamson too, his 24th ton came in January 2021.

Once considered the weakest link of the Fab 4, Joe Root in his purple patch is helping England overcome their troubled phase in Test Cricket.

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