Joe Root surpassed Alastair Cook’s total of 12,472 runs during England’s first innings on Day 3 of the first test against Pakistan on October 9. He finished the day on 176 not out, for his 35th test century.

“There are other geniuses who can play genius innings. But Root is a genius with consistency,” said Cook, who was commentating on the match for BBC radio when his record was taken by Root.

“You could say Sachin is still the favorite, but just,” Cook added.

Technically excellent and owning pretty much all the shots, Root overtook Cook’s record of 33 test centuries by an England batter last month when he made hundreds in both innings against Sri Lanka at Lord’s. His latest was his first in Pakistan and put him sixth on the all-time list of century-makers.

“I’ve never seen that hunger, determination or relentlessness in anyone’s batting really,” Cook said of Root. “He does that in an elegant way.”

Ben Duckett also hailed Root for his magnificent run in the longest format of the game.

“He is such a humble guy — you wouldn’t know you were with greatness in the dressing room,” England teammate Ben Duckett said.