Top run-getters in Test cricket

Australia captain Ricky Ponting became only the second batsman after India's Sachin Tendulkar to score 12,000 Test runs. He reached the landmark against Pakistan on the second day of the second Test at Leeds on Thursday.

Playing his 146th Test, Ponting got to the figure when he hit a boundary to third man off Mohammad Aamer and took his score to 40.

Interestingly, he reached the 12,000-run mark in his 247th innings, exactly the same number of innings Tendulkar took to get to the coveted milestone.

Ponting's tally of 39 Test centuries is second only to Tendulkar, who is perched atop with 47, having scored four hundreds in five Tests he played this year.

Tendulkar is the only batsman in Test history to score more than 13,000 runs. His tally stands at 13,539 runs from 273 innings in 167 matches, with 47 centuries, including a best of 248 not out, at an average of 55.48.

The Indian batting legend also boasts of the record for most runs in One-Day Internationals. His current tally in ODIs stands at 17598 runs in 442 matches, at an average of 45.12, with a world record career-best of 200 not out, having hit 46 centuries and 93 fifties.

Brian Lara, the first batsman to score a quadruple century (400 not out) in Test history, is third on the list of highest run-getters with a tally of 11,953 runs in 131 Tests.

The West Indies ace was Test cricket's leading scorer when quit international cricket in April 2007, but overtaken by Tendulkar a year later, in 2008.

India's batting stalwart Rahul Dravid is fast closing in on Lara. The former India captain needs just 497 runs to overtake the West Indies left-hander and occupy the third place in the highest run-getters' list.

Dravid, regarded as one of the best Test batsmen of his generation, boasts of splendid record of 11,547 runs in 140 Tests, at 53.53, having hit 29 centuries.

Former Australia captain Allan Border (11,174 runs in 156 Tests) was the first batsman to get to 11,000 runs in Test cricket.

He achieved the feat during his innings of 84 against South Africa at Adelaide in January 1994, in his 150th consecutive Test, his 90th in succession as captain and his final international match on home soil.

One of the best all-rounder the game has seen, Jacques Kallis, proves his worth by taking sixth place in the list.

With a stupendous tally of 11,126 runs in 140 Tests, at 55.07, with 35 centuries, Kallis is no doubt one of top batsmen in the world.

However, his value doubles considerably if you consider his bowling statistics that has seen him take 266 wickets, at 31.59.

Steve Waugh will always be remember as one of the best captains in cricket. He played an integral part in transforming Australia's status from world beaters to near invincibles.

Despite giving his all to Australian cricket, the selectors made sure he didn't go beyond his sell-by-date.

Waugh finished 73 runs short of the 11,000-run mark when he quit the game after playing 168 Tests and scoring 32 centuries.

India's diminutive opening batsman Sunil Gavaskar (10,122 runs in 125 Tests) was the first to score both 9000 and 10000 runs in Tests.

He reached the 9000-mark during his undefeated 166 against Australia at Adelaide on December 17, 1985. He was the first to notch five figures shortly after tea on March 7, 1987, against Pakistan, in Ahmedabad.