Multan, October 10
Speaking on his record-breaking partnership with double-centurion Joe Root during the first Test against Pakistan at Multan, England batter Harry Brook hilariously remarked that he was trying to get past his illustrious batting partner's score and that is what kept him going.
It was record-breaking left and right during day four of the first Test against Pakistan at Multan as batters Harry Brook and Joe Root starred with a 454-run partnership, breaking the 67-year-old record for the highest partnership by an English pair.
In their 454-run partnership, Root (262 in 375 balls, with 17 fours) and Brook (317 in 322 balls, with 29 fours and three sixes) broke multiple records.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the innings, Brook said, "It feels pretty good. And I'm just glad the team is in a strong position to win the game tomorrow. We had a lot of fun out there. It was hot and hard work but we enjoyed it."
On what kept him going, Brook said, "Trying to get past him [Root]. It was a good wicket. I just wanted to cash in as much as possible."
Talking about his new-found fitness, Brook said that it has made a massive difference as he has shifted from reaching 150 and slogging to playing more calculated innings.
Brook's triple century came in 310 balls, which is the fastest by an English batter and overall second-fastest, next to Indian great Virender Sehwag's triple ton in 278 balls against South Africa in 2008 at Chennai.
With this knock, he became the sixth batter to achieve this feat for the Three Lions side. The other English batters to score a triple century were Leonard Hutton (364 vs Australia in 1938), Wally Hammond (336* vs New Zealand in 1933), Graham Gooch (333 vs India in 1990), Andy Sandham (325 vs West Indies in 1930), and John Endrich (310* vs New Zealand in 1965).
With this innings, Brook also became the fifth batter to score a triple century against Pakistan after Garry Sobers of West Indies (365* in 1958), David Warner of Australia (335* in 2019), Mark Taylor of Australia (334* in 1998), and Virender Sehwag of India (309 in 2004).
The partnership of 454 runs between Brook and Root is England's highest partnership in Tests, breaking the record established by Colin Cowdrey and Peter May against West Indies in 1957, with 411 runs. It is also the biggest partnership against Pakistan in Tests, outdoing West Indies' Conrad Hunte and Garry Sobers' 446 runs partnership back in 1958.
This partnership is also the fourth-highest partnership in Test cricket, with the biggest one being a 624 run stand between Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara for Sri Lanka against South Africa in 2006 at Colombo.
Also, Brook's triple ton and Joe Root's double ton is only third instance of two players scoring 250-plus runs in the same Test innings, with (West Indies' Conrad Hunte (260) & Garry Sobers (365) vs Pakistan, 1958) and Sri Lanka's Jayawardene (374) and Sangakkara (287) against South Africa in 2006) being other two.