"Not like they were on 900" - GT star's huge statement on Wiaan Mulder not going for Brian Lara's 400* record amid ZIM vs SA 2025 2nd Test

England and Gujarat Titans (GT) wicketkeeper-batter Jos Buttler gave his point of view on Wiaan Mulder's declaration, and not going for Brian Lara's 400. Mulder decided against going for the West Indian legend's record of the highest individual Test score during the ongoing second Test between Zimbabwe and South Africa in Bulawayo.

On the second day of the Test, South Africa's stand-in captain Wiaan Mulder smashed a magnificent triple hundred. He was unbeaten on 367 heading into lunch, on the brink of breaking Brian Lara's record, who had scored an unbeaten 400 against England in 2004.

However, much to everyone's surprise, Mulder declared the innings while he was on 367. He later said that he took the decision out of respect for the legendary Brian Lara. Jos Buttler, on 'For The Love Of Cricket' Podcast, reckoned that Mulder should have gone for the record.

"No doubt Brian Lara is one of the best players to ever play the game and broke the record twice to score 400. But I feel for Wiaan Mulder, he should have carried on. If you get the opportunity, and it wasn't like they were taking forever. It's not like they were on 900 and batting for the sake of it. Anytime you get close to records, you should go for it," he said. (51:19)

"He's come out said those kind of things for a legend. Very respectful and honorable to say that. But you've scored that many runs, you've come that far and it's very doubtful that you'll ever get a chance to walk down that road again. I think he should have gone for it," he added.

Wiaan Mulder's unbeaten 367 came off just 334 balls, a strike-rate of 109.88, and included 49 fours and four sixes .

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Wiaan Mulder became the highest scorer for South Africa in a Test innings

Despite not going for Lara's 400, Wiaan Mulder broke many other records during his marathon 367*. He became the highest scorer for South Africa in a Test innings, going past former batter Hashim Amla, who previously held the record with his unbeaten 311.

With that, Mulder also became only the second South African batter in their history to score a triple hundred in Test cricket. The right-hander also recorded the highest individual score by a batter in an away Test, going past former Pakistan batter Hanif Mohammed's record of 337, which he had set way back in 1958.

Mulder also recorded the highest aggregate by a South African batter in Tests, going past Graeme Smith's 362 and doing so in just one innings. Moreover, he also became the first player to score a triple century on his Test captaincy debut.