Wiaan Mulder's decision to delcare the innings while nearing 400 has divided opinions among cricket fans |courtesy - Zimbabwe Cricket
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Wiaan Mulder shocked the cricketing world
- Muldeer declared the innings at 367
- Muldeer had the chance to break Brian Lara's 400 record
Wiaan Mulder left cricket fans in shock on Monday (July 7) during the second Test of the two-match Test series against Zimbabwe by declaring South Africa's innings while batting at 367 during the lunch break of the second day of play, with his team having a massive total of 636 on the board.
Muldeer, who is leading the Proteas for the first time in his career, shattered the record books through his incredible knock, which ends as the fifth-highest individual score in Test cricket history and the highest by a South African batter.
While there was excitment building in the cricket fraternity as it appeared that the 400-run mark will be breached for only the second time in history. However, the South African captain decided to declare the innings, which meant that Lara's record (400) stayed safe.
The decision, which was evidently taken in the best interests of the team, has divided opinions. While many praised the all-rounder's selfless, several cricket fans pointed out that there was ample time left in the match for the Proteas to secure a victory. Cricket lovers recalled the 2004 Multan Test between India and Pakistan when Rahul Dravid declared the innings while Sachin was batting at 194 and just six short of a double hundred. However, in this case, Muldeer is the captain and himself made the call to let go of the milestone.
Muldeer is an all-rounder, who batted in the lower order for most of his career, was promoted to number three ahead of the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final by South Africa as a make-shift option as they struggled to fill the spot.
The 27-year-old is leading South Africa in this match as regular skipper Temba Bavuma missed out on the series due to a hamstring injury. Keshav Maharaj led the Proteas in the series opener but suffered a groin strain and could not play the second match.
Overall, Mulder has played 21 Tests in his career and scored 1153 runs at an average of 38.43. Two of his three centuries have come in this series, with a ton in the first Test at Bulawayo too. He has also taken 35 wickets.
