England's greatest wins under Joe Root’s leadership

Joe Root stamped his name as England’s most successful Test captain when he overcame India at Headingley to take his win tally to 27, surpassing Michael Vaughan’s record of 26 in 2021.

Though England are presently placed at the bottom of the World Test Championship table, Root’s reign saw many memorable highs.

Here are some of the greatest Test series wins England recorded under Root’s captaincy.

Taking down number one ranked India, 2018

Virat Kohli-led India were ranked first in the MRF Tyres ICC Team Rankings for Tests when they toured England in 2018. They were greeted with a defeat in the opening Test at Edgbaston. Although Kohli stood out for his individual brilliance with the bat, amassing 593 runs (two centuries, three fifties), Root’s England were up to the mark to tackle the threat. England took the series 4-1 with a hundred from Root in the final Test, accompanied by Alastair Cook’s century in his retirement Test.

Triumph in Sri Lanka, 2018 and 2021

While touring Sri Lanka in the 21st century, England's Test side had encountered trouble before Root took over as the captain. After their triumph in 2001, England had not won a Test series while touring Sri Lanka. All the odds were however defied by England in 2018 with a 3-0 clean sweep. The 2021 Test series, part of the World Test Championship followed suit with a comprehensive 2-0 victory.

Come-from-behind victory against the Proteas, 2019/20

After a defeat in the opening Test versus South Africa at Centurion, England bounced back commandingly to take the four-match series 3-1. England veterans Stuart Broad, and Ben Stokes alongside young guns Dom Sibley and Sam Curran led the charge under Root’s command. The win meant that England won back-to-back Test series in South Africa.