South Africa’s stand-in Test captain Wiaan Mulder produced one of the greatest innings in the history of Test cricket on July 7, scoring an unbeaten 367 against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo before declaring his team’s innings with the record still within reach.
Mulder, 27, led a depleted South African side in the second Test at Queens Sports Club and struck 49 fours and four sixes in a blistering 334-ball innings that ended when he called his batters in at lunch on the second day.
At that point, South Africa stood at 626-5, and Mulder was just 33 runs shy of Brian Lara’s all-time record of 400 not out, set in Antigua in 2004. The South African captain appeared focused on giving his bowlers ample time to dismiss Zimbabwe twice and secure the series.
Mulder's 367* stands as the fifth-highest score in Test cricket history.
The right-hander, batting at No. 3 after South Africa slipped to 24-2 early on Sunday, had ended the first day on 264 not out. He was briefly dismissed on 247, bowled by Tanaka Chivanga, only for a no-ball to be signalled due to overstepping.
Mulder reached his triple-century early on day two from 297 deliveries, the second-fastest in Test history, behind only Virender Sehwag’s 278-ball triple against South Africa in 2008.
He continued to score at pace, passing Hashim Amla’s South African record of 311 not out and climbing past historic landmarks set by Len Hutton (364) and Garry Sobers (365*) to move into fifth on the all-time list.
His strike rate of 109.88 is now the highest ever for a triple-centurion in Test cricket. Mulder also becomes only the second South African to score a Test triple-century, and the first to do so as captain.
Only four men in Test history have scored more runs in a single innings: Mahela Jayawardene (374), Brian Lara (375 and 400*), and Matthew Hayden (380).
Zimbabwe, now under pressure, face a daunting reply with three days of cricket still ahead. South Africa leads the two-Test series 1–0.
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