"You’ve blown it big time"- Chris Gayle blasts Wiaan Mulder for not going after Brian Lara's record

Wiaan Mulder declared South Africa’s innings while he was still batting at 367 against Zimbabwe.

Former West Indies cricketer Chris Gayle has slammed South Africa’s Wiaan Mulder for declaring team innings while he was at 367 during the recently-concluded second test between South Africa and Zimbabwe. The match was played at the Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo.

Mulder, who was the stand-in skipper of South Africa in the clash, broke plenty of records with his triple century in the match. The right-handed batsman slammed an unbeaten 367 runs in the first innings of the match, before declaring the team’s innings.

Notably, Mulder had a good opportunity to break former West Indies cricketer Brian Lara’s record for highest individual score in test cricket. Lara had scored 400* against England in 2004.

Chris Gayle blasts Wiaan Mulder for not going after Brian Lara’s record

After his knock, Mulder justified his decision to declare his batting at 367 runs. He said that he wanted the record to stay with legend Brian Lara.

“Brian Lara is a legend, let’s be real. He got 401 or whatever it was against England. And for someone of that stature to keep that record is pretty special,” he said.

However, Gayle has slammed Mulder for not going after Lara’s record. While speaking on talkSPORT, Gayle said that Mulder made a big mistake by declaring team innings as it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him to score 400 runs in a test match.

“I think it was an error from his side, not to try and go to get it. We don’t know if he would go on and get it or not. But he declared on 367, and he said what he had to say. But listen, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get 400 runs in a Test match. Come on, youngster, you’ve blown it big time!” Gayle said.

“Come on, you’re on 367; automatically, you have to take a chance at the record. If you want to be a legend, how are you going to become a legend? Records come with being a legend,” he further said.

“That doesn’t happen often. You don’t know when you’re going to get to a triple century again. Any time you get a chance like that, you try and make the best out of it. But he was so generous and said he wanted the record to stay with Brian Lara. Maybe he panicked; he didn’t know what to do in that situation,” Gayle added.

Meanwhile, Mulder became the second South Africa player to score a triple century in tests. Hashim Amla (311*) was the first Proteas batter to slam a triple ton in tests in a clash against England in 2012. Mulder’s 367-run knock is the fifth-highest individual score in tests.

Talking about the match, South Africa defeated Zimbabwe by an innings and 236 runs. With Mulder’s triple century, Proteas piled up 626/5d in the first innings. Later, they bowled out Zimbabwe for 170 in the first innings and 220 in the second innings. With the victory in the second test, South Africa won the two-match series 2-0.

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