ENG vs IND 2025: Ricky Ponting backs Joe Root to overtake his Test tally in Manchester

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting believes Joe Root is on track to surpass his Test run tally during Day 3 of the Manchester Test against India. Root finished unbeaten on 11 runs at the end of Day 2 and currently trails Ponting by 108 runs in the all-time men’s Test run charts.

Root is now the third-highest run-scorer in Test cricket, surprassing Rahul Dravid and Jacques Kallis on Day 3 of the fourth Test.

“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 that 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,” said Ponting to Sky Sports.

Ponting also added that there is much more to come from Root, and he believes the England talisman has the potential to surpass Sachin Tendulkar as the all-time highest run-scorer in Test cricket. Currently, England lead India 2-1 in the ongoing five-match Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series.

“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,” Ponting said.

Speaking about the match, England ended Day 2 at Old Trafford trailing India by 133 runs. Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley both scored half-centuries, sharing a 166-run partnership for the first wicket. India posted a total of 358 runs in their first innings, with half-centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, and Rishabh Pant. England captain Ben Stokes took a five-wicket haul to keep India’s batting in check.