Virat's records in trouble as Joe Root leads Test tons race among the Fab-4

As Joe Root continues to carve his path towards cricketing greatness, England fans and former players are celebrating the achievements of their former Test captain. On the opening day of the 2nd Test against Sri Lanka, Root orchestrated a remarkable comeback for England, rescuing them from a precarious 130/4 to a more secure 358/7 by stumps. In the process, Root reached his 33rd Test century, making him the active cricketer with the most Test tons and tying him with Alastair Cook for the most by an English batter.

Root's stellar form has placed him ahead of his contemporaries in the celebrated "Fab Four" of cricket. He currently leads with 33 Test centuries, while Kane Williamson and Steve Smith are close behind with 32 each, and Virat Kohli trails with 29. Despite debuting more than a year after Kohli, Root has managed to outperform his peers, particularly the Indian batting maestro, who has seen a dip in his Test performance over the past few years.

While the Fab Four of the last decade continue to shine, Kohli's Test century tally has not kept pace with the others. Although he remains the leading century-maker in ODIs, Kohli's Test numbers have faltered, leaving him at the bottom of the list among the four former captains. Root, meanwhile, leads in terms of Test matches played (144), with Kohli second at 113, and Smith and Williamson following at 109 and 100 Tests respectively.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has taken notice of these statistics, playfully teasing Indian fans with a "good morning" message and highlighting the comparison between Root and Kohli. Vaughan pointed out that despite debuting later, Root has outperformed Kohli in several key areas of Test cricket, including total runs, average, and strike rate.

Root's current tally of 12,131 Test runs puts him ahead of Kohli by a significant 3,290 runs, with an average of 50.33 compared to Kohli's 49.15. Root also has a slightly better strike rate at 56.70, compared to Kohli's 55.56. Additionally, Root has amassed 64 half-centuries to Kohli's 30 and has hit more sixes (44) than the Indian star.

For much of their careers, Root and Kohli progressed neck-and-neck, with Kohli even leading the pack at one point. However, a lean 16-month period, where Kohli failed to score a century between November 2019 and March 2022, saw his average dip below 50 for the first time in years. This slump allowed his contemporaries, particularly Root, to pull ahead.

As things stand, Smith remains second in the Fab Four with 9,685 runs, while Williamson, with 8,743 runs, is just slightly behind Kohli. The battle among these cricketing giants continues, but for now, Root has claimed the upper hand, further solidifying his status as one of the modern greats.