Joe Root equals Sachin Tendulkar and Ricky Ponting, surpasses Rahul Dravid in remarkable Multan marathon

Joe Root and Harry Brook's incredible batting display shattered numerous records as they propelled England to an astonishing total of 823/7 in the first innings of the Test match against Pakistan in Multan. Root and Brook both scored double centuries, with Brook reaching the rare milestone of a triple century. Their partnership for the third wicket yielded a massive 454 runs off just 522 deliveries, leaving the Pakistani bowlers struggling to contain the English onslaught.

The pair had come together when the score was 249/3 in the 50th over. They were separated when Root fell to Agha Salman on a score of 262 off 375 balls, with England's score reading 779/5 in the 145th over. During the innings, Root broke Alastair Cook's record for most runs for England in the history of Test cricket. He is only 33 years old and is enjoying arguably the most prolific phase of his career and so it is now widely tipped that Root could even go all the way and break Sachin Tendulkar's all-time record for most runs in Test cricket.

There is still a long way to go for Root to get to that particular stat but the former England captain has already equalled Tendulkar, and a number of other legendary names, by scoring a double century in Multan. This was Root's sixth double ton, which puts him level with the number of double hundreds scored by Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Younis Khan, Javed Miandad, Kane Williamson, Virender Sehwag and Marvan Atapattu in their illustrious careers. Of all the players to have scored six double tons, it is only Root and former New Zealand captain Williamson who are still playing.

Root sits joint fifth with all these players on the list of batters with most double centuries in Test history. He was earlier level with Cook, Graeme Smith and Rahul Dravid on five. Above him are England legend Wally Hammond, former India captain Virat Kohli and Sri Lanka great Mahela Jayawardene on seven double centuries. West Indies stalwart Brian Lara is third on the list with nine double tons while above him is former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara with 11. Australia legend Don Bradman sits at the top of the list with a whopping 12 double-centuries in just 52 Tests.

Root and Brook resumed play on Day 4 with England's score reading 492/3. They went past Pakistan's 556 to and England built a handy first innings lead of 267 runs. Their partnership on the flat track at the Multan Cricket Stadium was the highest in England's Test history.

Brook, however, was particularly severe in the afternoon as he moved through the gears to score the second-fastest triple ton of all time in 310 balls and he became only the sixth Englishman to achieve the milestone. He is also England's first triple centurion in 34 years as he punished Pakistan's bowlers. Six bowlers conceded more than 100 runs for only the second time in test history. The record-breaking partnership also marked only the third time two players scored more than 250 in a test innings.