England will take on India in the fourth Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy at Old Trafford from July 23. After taking the 2-1 lead at Lord's, the hosts will have an opportunity to seal the series in Manchester with a match still left to be played.
One of the players in the English line-up who will be crucial for their chances at Old Trafford to wrap up the series would be world number 1 batter, Joe Root.
Having scored 104 and 40 in the Lord's Test, Root will be eager to carry his form into the 4th Test and help England secure another win following an eight-day break.
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Heading into the 4th Test, the England all-time highest scorer will be in striking distance of several awards as he continues to inch closer to Sachin Tendulkar's tally of 15,921 runs.
In this article, TSN takes a closer look at all the records within Root's grasp ahead of the upcoming Test.
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Which are the records that Joe Root can break against India in Manchester?
After scoring 253 runs in three matches of the series at an average of 50.60, here's the list of records that the batter can break in Manchester:
Become the 2nd-highest run-scorer in Test cricket:
If Joe Root, who has 13,259 Test runs, scores 120 runs in the 4th Test, he can go past Rahul Dravid (13,288), Jacques Kallis (13,289) and Ricky Ponting (13,378) and become the second-highest run-scorer in Test history.
Become batter with the most Test centuries against India:
Joe Root is currently the batter with the joint-most number of Test centuries against India (11).
If he scores another century in Manchester, he will be the first player with 12 centuries against the Indians, surpassing his Australian counterpart, Steve Smith.
| Batter | Centuries |
|---|---|
| Steve Smith | 11 |
| Joe Root | 11 |
| Ricky Ponting | 8 |
Become the batter with the most Test fifties
With 66 Test fifties, Joe Root is currently the player with the joint-second most Test fifties alongside Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
Two fifties at Old Trafford will make him the batter with the joint-most fifties in Tests alongside Tendulkar.
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| Batter | Fifties |
|---|---|
| Sachin Tendulkar | 68 |
| Shivnarine Chanderpaul | 66 |
| Joe Root | 66 |
Become the first batter to score 6000+ runs in the World Test Championship
The former England captain, with 5796 runs, is 204 runs away from becoming the first batter with 6000 or more runs in the World Test Championship since its inception.
Steve Smith is the second on the list, with 4278 runs currently.
Become the first batter to score 1000+ Test runs in Manchester
With 978 runs to his name, Root is 22 away from becoming the first player to score 1000+ runs at Old Trafford in Manchester.
Become the fielder with the most catches in the World Test Championship
Joe Root (103) needs 3 catches in Manchester to become the fielder with the most number of catches in the WTC by surpassing Steve Smith's 105.