A dream debut as captain for Wiaan Mulder, who etched his name into several record books with a stunning performance.
With Temba Bavuma and Keshav Maharaj both unavailable, Wiaan Mulder stepped up to lead South Africa in the Bulawayo Test. The pace-bowling allrounder made the most of the opportunity, crafting a historic innings to lay the foundation for a massive first-innings total against Zimbabwe.
At the end of day one on Sunday, South Africa stood tall at 465 for 4. Acting captain Mulder remained unbeaten on 264, having faced 259 balls and struck 3 sixes and 34 fours. At the other end was Dewald Brevis, not out on 15.
Mulder became only the third player in Test history to score a double century on captaincy debut, and the only one to surpass 250 in such a feat.
It was also just the fifth double century by a South African on Day 1 of a Test match — the previous four all made by openers. Graeme Smith had two against Bangladesh, Herschelle Gibbs one versus Pakistan, and Gary Kirsten another against Zimbabwe.
Mulder scored 154 runs in boundaries alone, a figure surpassed in South African Test history only by Graeme Pollock, who scored 172 boundary runs in his 270 against Australia in 1970.
Despite losing the toss and being put into bat, South Africa had a rocky start. Their opening stand was broken in the 10th over for just 11 runs, and four overs later, Lesego Senokwane also departed.
Then began Mulder’s counterattack. Partnering with David Bedingham, the pair added 184 runs in 219 balls for the third wicket. Their 50-run stand came in just 35 balls. Both raced to their fifties — Mulder in 53 deliveries, Bedingham in 51.
Tanaka Chivanga broke the stand by trapping Bedingham LBW while he was on course for a century.
Next came Luan-Dre Pretorius, who accelerated even faster. Alongside Mulder, the duo put on 217 runs in just 185 balls.
Mulder reached his third Test century in 116 balls. He passed his previous best of 147 (from the last match) and brought up 150 in 167 balls. He then reached 200 in 214 balls. He even survived a dismissal chance when Chivanga overstepped for a no-ball late in the day.
Zimbabwe did manage to dismiss Pretorius before his hundred. He skied a catch while trying to hit Kundai Matigimu for six, ending on 78 off 87 balls with 3 sixes and 7 fours.
Mulder and Brevis added quick runs in the final overs, pushing South Africa to their highest-ever score on the first day of a Test match, surpassing the previous best of 445 against Pakistan in 2003.
Score Summary
South Africa 1st Innings – 465/4 in 88 overs
(Di George 10, Senokwane 3, Mulder 264*, Bedingham 82, Pretorius 78, Brevis 15*)
Bowling – Muzarabani 19–4–79–0, Chivanga 18–3–85–2, Matigimu 13.3–1–77–1, Masakadza 28–2–152–1, Myers 2.3–0–14–0, Madhevere 7–0–47–0)
