Ricky Ponting Breaks Silence on Joe Root Closing In on His Test Record

Given the favourable batting conditions for day three's play at Old Trafford, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting thinks England may only want to bat once in the current fourth Test match versus India. Following a 94-run opening partnership between Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, England finished day two's play at 225/2 in 46 overs. The hosts are on track to take a significant lead with Joe Root and Ollie Pope working to close the gap. 

On Day 3 of the Manchester Test against India, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting thinks Joe Root is on pace to surpass his Test run total. In the all-time men's Test run charts, Root now lags behind Ponting by 108 runs after finishing Day 2 undefeated by 11 runs. On Day 3 of the fourth Test, Root overtook Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid to become the third-highest run scorer in Test cricket.

Ricky Ponting Gets Candid:

Talking to Sky Sports, Ponting said, “If he keeps going on like this, that could very well happen today. It’s a great day for batting, and what a remarkable career it's been for Joe. How he's transformed from someone who couldn't go on past fifty to hundreds. Now it seems like every time he gets to fifty, you just mark him down for a hundred, or a big hundred. Just looking at some of the numbers, 37 Test match hundreds, 13000 runs, what an amazing career to date."

Ponting went on to say that Joe Root still has a lot more to offer and that he thinks the England captain might overtake Sachin Tendulkar as the greatest run scorer in Test cricket history. In the current five-match Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series, England is ahead of India 2-1.

He further added, "There's still a fair bit to go. What is he, 35? Doesn't look like his passion for the game is going anywhere. His run-scoring passion has probably gone up over the years. Can he chase down Sachin? Let's see. He might as well do that."

Regarding the game, England was 133 runs behind India at the close of Day 2 at Old Trafford. Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley shared a 166-run partnership for the first wicket, with both players scoring half-centuries. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, and Rishabh Pant all scored half-centuries as India amassed 358 runs in their opening innings. Ben Stokes, the captain of England, got five wickets to limit India's innings.

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