Batting great Kumar Sangakkara paid a heartwarming tribute to England's batting maestro Joe Root after he scored his 38th Test century, on Day 3 of the fourth Test against India at Manchester on Friday.
Root, who scored his 38th hundred in his 157th Test, drew level with Sangakkara in joint fourth position in the list for most centuries by batters in Test cricket.
Sangakkara, who is part of the commentary team for the India-England series for Sky Sports, was generous in his praise for Root.
'Well, to Joe Root. Congratulations.It's about time you got to 38. I was expecting you to do that much, much sooner. But all I am expecting you to do is get many, many more,' Sangakkara said in a video posted by Sky Sports Cricket on X.
'You are a wonderful cricketer, you are an absolute gem of a bloke. You have made not just England but the entire cricketing world sit up, watch, appreciate supreme batting skill. You have made the game all richer for having played it.'
'Good luck and hope I see you at the end of 16,000 Test runs.'
Ricky Ponting also paid tribute to Root for overhauling him on the all-time run-getters list in Tests.
'Congratulations Joe Root, magnificent, second on the table. This crowd at the ground, this very knowledgeable crowd at Old Trafford, all stand as one. A magnificent moment in history. Just one more to go now, about 2,500 runs behind (Sachin Tendulkar), but the way his career has gone in the last 4 or 5 years, there is absolutely no reason why not?'
Root overtook Ponting to become the second-highest all-time run-scorer in Test cricket. He steered India pacer Anshul Kamboj for a single to third man in the 101st over, to go past Ponting's tally of 13,378 runs in Test cricket.
Former England captain Michael Atherton was effusive in his praise of Root.
'A great privilege to watch. To see him knock off those milestones, a lovely warm embrace with Ben Stokes when he got to his 38th hundred, a little kind of self conscious way when he passed Dravid and Kallis and then Ponting. It has been a great privilege to see his career unfold on the entirety.
'We were then in Nagpur, he kind of waltzed out gently, his first Test innings. KP (Kevin Pietersen) was out in the middle and he just said: 'Hey young lad, what's up happening?' and now 12-13 years he has overhauled the best of the rest,' he told Sky Sports Cricket during Day 3 at Old Trafford.
'The biggest thing for me with Joe Root when I first saw this young man a dozen years ago in an England shirt, look at him smiling then. He promised himself he would remember what it was like playing cricket as a young lad, and he's still smiling a decade later,' said former skipper Nasser Hussain.
'Cricket can get you down -- Joe Root has always played with a smile on his face.'
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