Joe Root created history at Edgbaston, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's all-time record for most fifties in Test cricket as England completed a 3-0 series whitewash over Pakistan. Root remained unbeaten on 62 off 69 balls with nine fours, his 110th score of 50 or more in Test cricket, taking his tally of fifties to 69 — one clear of Tendulkar's long-standing mark of 68.

West Indies great Shivnarine Chanderpaul sits third on the all-time list with 66 fifties, while Allan Border and Rahul Dravid have 63 each and Ricky Ponting 62.

Root joins elite 1,000-run club

Root also became the first batter ever to score more than 1,000 Test runs at Edgbaston, taking his aggregate at the venue past the milestone. He has now crossed 1,000 runs at four different Test venues — 2,203 at Lord's, 1,128 in Manchester and 1,050 at The Oval — a feat previously achieved only by South African great Jacques Kallis and Australian legend Ricky Ponting.

A rare feat: a series without a century

The series produced an unusual statistic: it was only the eighth three-match Test series in history to finish without a single individual century, and only the second in England since the 1888 Ashes. Despite England's dominance, no batter from either side managed a hundred across the three Tests — Harry Brook's 75 was England's highest score at Edgbaston.

Pakistan openers hit a 35-year low

Pakistan's openers endured a disastrous series, combining for just 20 runs across six innings — their joint-worst aggregate for an opening partnership in a Test series since facing West Indies at home in 1990-91. Three different opening combinations were tried — Azan Awais with Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood and Saim Ayub — but none managed even a double-digit stand, with the best partnership worth just eight runs.

Azan Awais was the only opener to offer any consistency, scoring 129 runs in six innings at an average of 21.50, while Imam-ul-Haq managed 42 and 0, Shan Masood made 1 and 26, and Saim Ayub returned 0 and 0. In the third Test's first innings, Pakistan were bowled out for just 133 with all of their top five dismissed for single-digit scores — the first time a team had lost its entire top five for single-digit scores in the first innings of a Test in England.

A debut to remember amid the gloom

Pakistan's biggest positive came from debutant Razaullah, whose electrifying 81 off 63 balls briefly brought the third Test to life and gave his team genuine hope of an unlikely comeback. But Pakistan have now lost 16 of their last 21 Tests. Their difficult tour was followed by major changes, with seven players replaced in the squad after the second Test and coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and assistant Umar Gul removed.

For England, the series marked a strong return after disappointing results against New Zealand and the Ashes defeat. Root's return to the captaincy following Ben Stokes' retirement from international cricket ended on a high, with interim red-ball head coach Marcus Trescothick — who took charge after Brendon McCullum's departure — set to hand over the side to Stephen Fleming ahead of England's three-Test tour of South Africa in December and January.