Adelaide, Dec 18 (IANS): England captain Joe Root continues his stellar run-making spree with the bat in Test cricket in 2021 as he surged past legendary India batters Sachin Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar in the list of most Test runs in a calendar year.

During his knock of 62 against Australia on day three of the second Ashes Test in Adelaide, Root went past Tendulkar (1562 runs in 2010), Gavaskar (1555 runs in 1979) and former Australia captain Michael Clarke (1595 runs in 2012) to be at fourth place for most Test runs in a year.

He also became only the second captain after Graeme Smith (1656 runs in 2008) to score 1600-plus runs in a year in Test cricket. With 1606 runs, Root is just behind former Pakistan batter Mohammad Yousuf, who made a jaw-dropping 1788 in just 11 Tests in 2006 at an average of 99.33, followed by West Indies legend Viv Richards, who scored 1710 runs in 11 Tests at an average of 90.00 in 1976 and Smith.

In the first Ashes Test at Brisbane, Root had established the England record for most runs in the calendar year in Test cricket, surpassing Michael Vaughan's record in 2002, when he amassed 1481 runs at an average of 61.70.

Root will have a chance to try and overtake Smith if England get to bat in the second innings of the ongoing Adelaide Test.