Srinagar: South Africa captain Wiaan Mulder has revealed the reason behind declaring inning on himself and not going after Brian Lara’s monumental batting record in the second Test against Zimbabwe.
Wiaan Mulder delivered a record-breaking performance in the ongoing South Africa vs Zimbabwe Test, smashing his maiden triple century and surpassing a long-standing record held by legendary Hashim Amla.
The right-handed batter scored 367* off 334 deliveries, peppered with 49 fours and four maximums. However, the all-rounder decided to declare the Proteas innings just when he was 33 runs short of Brian Lara’s 401-run world record.
While speaking at the end of the day’s play, the Proteas’ stand-in skipper, Wiaan Mulder, shared his thoughts after scoring a record-breaking knock for South Africa.
“To be honest, I have never even dreamt of getting a double hundred, let alone a triple hundred. Most importantly, it has put the team in a good position to win this Test,” he said.
“We had enough to bowl at. Brian Lara is a legend. He got 400 or 401 or something against England, and for someone to keep that record, it is special. I spoke to Shuks (Shukri Conrad) – and spoke about letting the legends keep (that record). Lara keeping that record is exactly the way it should be,” he added.
He also shed light on the learnings from some of the great players, noting that he was not good enough when he started playing cricket.
“When I started playing for South Africa, I was nowhere near good enough. Have had the opportunity to learn from some great players (past and present).”
“Going to England really gave me a chance to understand what kind of batter (I want to be) and figure out (my weaknesses). Lots of lessons (from my time in England). There were so many thoughts like you have got enough.”
Wiaan also highlighted the moment of getting bowled out on a no-ball while he was playing on 247 runs in the second South Africa vs Zimbabwe Test.
“When I got bowled on 247, a lapse of concentration, there was so much negative happening. But there was a lot of positive thinking happening as well. Just singing my song between balls, trying to keep myself natural and present, tried feeling my shoes to stay in the moment and not think too far ahead,” Wiaan concluded.