Joe Root & Sachin Tendulkar: England batter has India batter in sights for most Test runs

In the fourth round of the 2001 Wimbledon Championships, Roger Federer played his first and only competitive singles match against Pete Sampras.

Pistol Pete was a seven-time champion at the All England Club. Federer, a 19-year-old with a terrible ponytail and no major titles to his name, stunned the GOAT in five sets. Sampras played one more Wimbledon and Federer would go on to outstrip the American with eight titles.

Sport is littered with torch-passing moments. Some obvious, others that reveal themselves in the fullness of time.

Nagpur, 2012. Joe Root, days shy of his 22nd birthday, was called into the England Test side for the first time. Facing a four-pronged India spin attack, he impressed batting in his brand new navy blue cap. Scores of 73 and 20 not out helped England to a draw that sealed a famous 2-1 series win.

In the India team was Sachin Tendulkar. It was the singular occasion he shared the same field with Root in international cricket. Tendulkar, 39 at the time, played just six more Tests and did not make another hundred. He retired a year later with an unfathomable 15,921 runs.

Unbeknown to anyone at the time, the long pursuit had begun. Root was catchin' Sachin.

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