Wiaan Mulder etched his name in cricketing history on Monday by becoming the first player ever to score a triple century on debut as a Test captain. Standing in for the injured Keshav Maharaj, Mulder led South Africa in the second Test against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, reaching his triple ton in just 297 balls.
Resuming the second day on 264, Mulder brought up his 300 with a single off Tanaka Chivanga on the first ball of the 100th over. He now holds the record as the second-fastest to a triple century in Tests, behind India’s Virender Sehwag, who reached the landmark in 278 balls against South Africa.
In doing so, Mulder also became just the second South African to hit a triple hundred in Test cricket, following Hashim Amla’s unbeaten 311 against England at The Oval in 2012. Mulder is now in sight of surpassing Brian Lara’s world-record score of 400 not out.
At 27 years and 138 days, Mulder is the youngest Test captain to notch up a triple century, surpassing the previous record held by Australia’s Bob Simpson (28y 171d). For comparison, India’s Shubman Gill had fallen short of this milestone earlier after scoring 269 against England.
South Africa declared their first innings at 626/5, with Mulder unbeaten on 367 — the highest individual score by a player in an away Test, though Lara’s iconic 400* still remains the overall best in the format.