Joe Root etched his name in the history books last week as he set a new England record with his 34th century in the longest format of the game during the second Test against Sri Lanka at Lord’s.
Root’s brilliant knock of 103 in the second essay followed his first innings score of 143 saw him surpassed Sir Alastair Cook's tally of 33 Test hundreds for England.
Root’s recent exploits have reignited the debate the best batter of the modern era. Among the Fab Four, the England star has the most hundreds in the traditional format followed by Kane Williamson (32), Steve Smith (32) and Virat Kohli (29).
In the all-time list of Test century-makers, Root is currently placed at the joint sixth-place alongside Younis Khan, Sunil Gavaskar, Brian Lara and Mahela Jayawardene.
Amid the debate, former cricketers Adam Gilchrist and Michael Vaughan shared their views on the better batter between Root and Kohli.
During a podcast on Club Prairie Fire, both Gilchrist and Vaughan picked Kohli over Root in T20 cricket. In ODIs, Vaughan again chose the Indian superstar over his compatriot and Gilchrist replied "absolutely".
When it comes to Test cricket, Vaughan opted for Root. To which, Gilchrist said "in the last short while definitely."
The Australia legend continued, "Over a long period of time Joe Root's stats are…, well he's the best England ever had."
But when Gilchrist was asked by the host to choose between Virat and Root versus Australia, the former wicketkeeper-batter retorted, "where are we playing?"
Gilchrist pointed out that Root has not scored a Test ton Down Under, while Vaughan said, "but he will".
Gilchrist further remarked, "Virat scored one of the best tons I've seen at the Perth stadium in the first Test match ever played there, that was probably different gravy. I'd probably say Virat."
Vaughan responded, "I wouldn't argue with that in Australia. I would say Virat in Australia against the Aussies, anywhere else I'm going Joe Root."
Here’s the video:
Joe Root has played 145 Test matches so far, amassing 12,377 runs at an average of 50.93, including 34 hundreds and 64 half-centuries. His highest individual score in Test cricket is 254.
On the other hand, Virat Kohli has represented India in 113 Tests, scoring 8848 runs at 49.15 with 29 tons and 30 fifties. His highest individual score is identical to Root.
