Joe Root on Friday became the 15th England cricketer to play 100 Test matches for his country. He achieved the feat during the first Test of the four-match series against India here at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.

Root had scored 8,249 runs in 99 Test matches (before the first Test against India), including 19 tons and 49 half-centuries. The right-handed batsman is the fourth-highest Test scorer for England. He stands behind Alastair Cook (12,472 runs), Graham Gooch (8,900 runs) and Alec Stewart (8,463 runs).

Incidentally, Root became only the third cricketer to play both his first and 100th Test match in the same visiting country. Root had made his debut in India in 2012 in a series which England won 2-1.

India captain Virat Kohli also congratulated Root on his achievement and hailed him as one of the big impact players in cricket.

TRIBUTE TO TOM MOORE

England cricket team donned black armbands in the first Test against India in Chennai as they paid tribute to war veteran Captain Tom Moore, who passed away recently. The 100-year-old raised millions of pounds to help Britain's health service in fighting the coronavirus outbreak, passed away with COVID-19 on Tuesday.

"It's really sad news. I had the pleasure of getting a chance to speak to him at the start of the last year. I am sure his family would be extremely proud of the legacy he has left behind. Someone gave the nation a chance to smile about in these dark times. All the great things he did for the National Health Services (NHS), on behalf of the whole cricket team, I would like to send thoughts to him and his family," Root had said in a video shared by England Cricket Board (ECB).

(With inputs from IANS)