England great Joe Root is nearing a historic feat in Test cricket. Root could surpass Australia great Ricky Ponting and jump to second in the list of most runs in the format. Ponting has 13378 Test runs to his name, and Root needs 120 runs to leapfrog the Australian legend. Root's ultimate goal will be to break Sachin Tendulkar's (15921) record of most runs in Test cricket, but he will need a good couple of seasons to get near the milestone.

Meanwhile, England captain Ben Stokes dubbed Root better than Ricky Ponting when asked about his impending record. If Root manages to get the runs in the first innings of the Manchester Test against India, he will reach the landmark faster than Ponting, who got the runs in 287 innings. The first innings in Manchester, on the other hand, will be Root's 286th.

Stokes said that 'less is more' when asked about Root's record and called him an absolute GOAT.

“Yeah, sometimes with those, less is more, maybe?” he said.

“I don’t need to say anything else other than he’s just the absolute G.O.A.T," Stokes said as quoted by FoxSports

Root didn't have a great start to the Tendulkar-Anderson Trophy, but he found his mojo back at Lord's where he scored a match-winning century in the first innings. Root has been the most consistent performer in the Tests for the last five years, and records prove it, as he sits at the top of the table of most runs in the World Test Championship (WTC). He is just 204 runs away from becoming the first player in the world to score 6000 runs in the WTC.

Root's biggest Test, however, will be during the Ashes in Australia. Root's record in Australia is a major obstacle to his GOAT status. Root has a modest average of 35 in Australia and surprisingly, he is yet to score a Test hundred in the country.