Cook becomes 1st Englishman to cross 11k run-mark, Root continues love affair with India

Skipper Alastair Cook on Friday became the first Englishman to surpass the 11,000 Test run-mark during the first day of the fifth Test against India in Chennai even as Joe Root continued his love affair with India

England's captain Alastair Cook plays a shot during the first day of the fifth and final test match against India at MAC Stadium in Chennai on Friday. Pic/PTI

Chennai: Skipper Alastair Cook on Friday became the first Englishman to surpass the 11,000 Test run-mark during the first day of the fifth Test against India here.

Cook was also the first from his country to complete the 9,000 and 10,000 runs in Tests.

The English skipper won the toss and decided to bat on Friday and a leading edge through cover from the first ball of the match brought him two runs and took his Test tally to 11,000.

The 31-year-old is 10th on the list of all-time leading run-scorers in Tests, between two former Australia captains, Allan Border (11,174 runs) and Steve Waugh (10,927).

Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar tops the list with 15,921 runs from 200 Tests. Australia's Ricky Ponting (13,378) and South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis (13,289) rounding out the podium.

Batting legend Rahul Dravid is fourth on the elite list with 13,288 runs in 164 matches, followed by Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara at 12,400 in 134 games.

West Indies stalwart Brian Lara is sixth, totalling 11,953 runs in 131 Tests, ahead of compatriot Shivnarine Chanderpaul (11,867 runs in 164 matches) and Sri Lankan Mahela Jayawardene (11,814 in 149).

Cook is playing his 140th Test and boasts more matches, more runs, more centuries (30) than any other Englishman and has also been involved in the most wins (57) for his country.

He made his Test debut against India at Nagpur in March 2006. His highest score in the longest format of the game is 294 against India in August 2011 at Birmingham.

Former England captain Graham Gooch is the second most successful English batsman, scoring 8,900 runs in 118 Tests.

JOE ROOT VS INDIA

Joe Root enjoys an outstanding batting record vs India in Tests - his tally being 1096 runs at an average of 73.06, including three hundreds and eight fifties, in eleven Tests.

Among the batsmen with at least ten innings in India-England Tests, Root's average of 73.06 is the second highest behind the 75.27 by Ken Barrington - 1355 runs in 14 Tests, including three centuries and nine fifties.

Root has taken his runs' tally this year to 1471 (ave.50.72) in 17 Tests, including three centuries and ten fifties. The said aggregate is his highest in a calendar year, bettering the 1385 (ave.60.21) in 14 Tests in 2015.

Root's series aggregate of 485 at an average of 53.88 in five Tests in the current rubber is the fifth highest by an England batsman in a Test series in India - the highest being 594 (ave.99.00) in five Tests by Ken Barrington in 1961-62.

Moeen Ali's fifth Test hundred is his second vs India. He hit two centuries in a Test series for the first time - 117 at Rajkot and 120 not out at Chennai.

For the first time, Moeen Ali has amassed 1,000 runs in a calendar year in Tests - his tally being 1008 (ave.48.00) in 17 Tests.

Moeen has joined Root, Bairstow and Cook to amass 1,000 runs or more this year in Tests. For the second time in a calendar year, four players have totalled 1,000 runs in a calendar year for England in Tests - the first occasion being in 2006 - the batsmen were Kevin Pietersen (1343), Paul Collingwood (1121), Andrew Strauss (1031) and Alistair Cook (1013).

The above feat equals a record for most batsmen from a side to manage 1,000-plus runs in a calendar year. India and South Africa had achieved the feat in 2008 and Sri Lanka in 2009.

Moeen is the sixth England batsman to hit two centuries in a Test series vs India in India, joining Ken Barrington, Colin Cowdrey, Mike Gatting, Andrew Struass and Alastair Cook.

The 146-run stand between Ali and Root is the second highest for England for the third wicket vs India in India next only to the 206 between Cook and Pietersen at Mumbai in November 2012.

Cook is the tenth batsman to complete 11,000 runs in Tests. He has taken the least time from his Test debut - 10 years and 290 days.

Cook, at 31 years 357 days, is the youngest batsman to accomplish the feat.

Bairstow's run-aggregate of 351 (ave.50.14) is a new record by an England wicketkeeper in a Test series vs India, surpassing the 319 (ave.35.44) in five Tests by Dick Spooner in 1951-52. The said tally is the most by an England wicketkeeper in a Test series in Asia.

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