Ross Taylor clinches special New Zealand record during Sydney Test vs Australia

Ross Taylor surpassed Stephen Fleming to become the all-time leading run-scorer in Tests for New Zealand on Monday.

He achieved the milestone when he reached 21 in New Zealand's second innings against Australia in the ongoing third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Taylor, who is one Test away from recording his 100th Test, now has 7,174 runs, which he scored in 175 innings to Fleming's 7,172 runs.

His celebration was short-lived when Pat Cummins bowled him out for 22 from 42 balls. His dismissal further pushed the touring side towards a third consecutive loss to the Australians. Tim Paine and Co have already sealed the series by winning the first two Tests and a win in the Pink Test will only earn them more vital points in the ICC World Test Championship, which commenced last year during the Ashes.

"278 NZ Test Match cricketers. @RossLTaylor You deserve to sit at the top of the mountain. Your place in NZ cricketing greatness is assured. Congrats on an amazing achievement mate," Brendon McCullum took to Twitter to praise his former teammate.

Now Taylor has most runs in both Test and One-Day Internationals (ODIs) among the New Zealand cricketers. He overtook Fleming in the shorter format last February against Bangladesh in Dunedin.

After breaking that record, Taylor had hinted to play for at least a couple more years. "I definitely don't have an end date. As everyone tells me you're a long time retired and you'll know when the best time is to retire. I just take it a couple of months at a time. I don't look too far ahead, but all going well I've hopefully got a couple of years left with the New Zealand team," the Napier-born had said in an interview.

The Indian team is set to tour New Zealand later this month for a full-fledged series including Tests, ODIs and T20Is. The first Test between India and New Zealand in Wellington will be Taylor's 100th appearance for his country in the whites.