Joe Root Equals Rahul Dravid In A Batting Milestone With A Magnificent Fifty In Multan Test

Joe Root equalled Dravid in a batting feat [Source: @PoppingCreaseSA/X]

England's legendary batter Joe Root sustained his purple patch in Test cricket, amassing a glorious fifty in the ongoing match against Pakistan at Multan Cricket Stadium. The talismanic cricketer thus equalled Rahul Dravid on the list of batters with most fifty-plus scores in Test history. 

After Pakistan were bowled out for 556 in their first innings, England had a disastrous start to the innings, losing stand-in captain Ollie Pope for a two-ball duck. However, Joe Root once again emerged as England's saviour, rescuing them from a precarious position. 

The stylish right-handed batter added 109 runs with Zak Crawley before Shaheen Afridi got rid of the latter for 78 runs. However, Root eventually brought up his half-century with the help of four glorious boundaries. This was Root's 65th Test fifty, as he equalled Rahul Dravid for most fifty-plus scores in the purest format. 

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Joe Root Career

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Batters With Most 50-Plus Scores In Tests

As mentioned in the above table, both Dravid and Root has 99 fifty-plus scores in Test cricket. While the Indian batting great batted 286 times to achieve the feat, Root attained the landmark in 18 fewer innings. Earlier, Root also became the first-ever batter to score 5000 runs in World Test Championship history. 

Ben Duckett Joins England's Run-Fest In Multan Test

After Zak Crawley's dismissal, Ben Duckett joined Root in the middle. Despite suffering from a potential thumb injury, the southpaw blazed his way through to a belligerent fifty in 45 deliveries. The dynamic duo has added 86 runs for the third wicket, with Duckett playing the aggressor. At the time of writing, England were 199 for two, with Root and Duckett batting on 61* and 59*, respectively. 

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[Watch] Saud Shakeel Misses His Century As Joe Root Grabs A Sharp Low Catch In Multan Test

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