South Africa’s stand-in captain Wiaan Mulder came tantalisingly close to rewriting the record books, falling just short of Brian Lara’s iconic mark for the highest individual score (400) in Test history. Batting on 367, Mulder chose team over personal glory, declaring the innings at 626/5 during the first innings of the second Test against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Monday.
His commanding knock not only showcased remarkable form but also secured him a place among the top five highest individual scores in Test cricket history.
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Brian Lara had scored 400 off 582 balls against England in 2004 at the St John's Stadium in Antigua. Several players like Michael Clarke, Mahela Jayawardene, David Warner came close to the record but nobody was able to break it. Mulder with his unbeaten knock of 367 became the highest scorer for South Africa in a single Test innings surpassing Hasim Amla's 311 against England in 2012.
Enroute his knock, he also became the second-fastest to score a triple century (297 balls) against Zimbabwe. India's Virender Sehwag holds the record for the fastest triple ton (278 balls) which he made against South Africa in Chennai.
The 27-year-old all-rounder was handed the responsibility of captaincy after Keshav Maharaj was ruled out due to injury. Maharaj himself had led the side in the first Test in place of full-time skipper Temba Bavuma, who is not playing the series after South Africa's World Test Championship (WTC) final triumph.
With several regular players rested for this away series in Zimbabwe, South Africa fielded a relatively inexperienced side. Lesego Senokwane and Prenelan Subrayen made their Test debuts in this match, while Dewald Brevis, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, and Codi Yusuf had debuted in the opening Test, which the Proteas won by 328 runs.
On Day 1 of the second Test, South Africa were asked to bat first but got off to a shaky start, losing both openers early, Tony de Zorzi made just 10, and debutant Senokwane also fell cheaply, leaving them at 24/2. From there, Mulder steadied the innings and formed a massive 184-run partnership with David Bedingham, guiding the team past the 200-run mark.
Once known more for his bowling, Mulder was pushed up to No. 3 last year after a finger injury kept him from bowling. Since then, he has made that position his own, featuring there against Pakistan and again in the WTC final against Australia.
Before this series, Mulder had a top score of just 27 in his first five innings as a top-order batter but things changed in the first Test against Zimbabwe, where he scored his maiden Test century, a fluent 147. He took that form into this match, going one step further to register a record-breaking double hundred.
He did survive a scare on 247 when he was bowled by Tanaka Chivanga only to be saved by a no-ball call. Mulder made the most of the lifeline and powered his way to 264 not out from just 259 balls as South Africa ended the day at 465/4.
His 264 not out is now the highest ever by a South African in a single day of Test cricket, and the sixth-highest in the history of the game. Only Don Bradman (309 vs England, 1930) and a few others sit above him on the all-time list for most runs in a day.
Mulder also became only the third player in history to score a double century on captaincy debut and no one has scored more than him in their first match as skipper. (With ANI inputs)
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