In a symbolic moment, South Africa’s stand-in captain and triple centurion Wiaan Mulder took the catch that ended Zimbabwe’s second innings and granted his side a humongous victory by an innings and 236 runs to wrap up the series 2-0. Even though Zimbabwe’s batsmen showed more resilience than they did in the first innings, they were no match for the quality of South Africa’s bowlers, even without Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Anrich Nortje and Lungi Ngidi, and folded out for 220 in Bulawayo.
An ecstatic Mulder, adjudged player of the series and match, hailed it as the perfect series. “Super special, something I dreamt of as a kid. To captain the country is one of the biggest honours you can get as a cricketer. Super proud. I was disappointed in the way I got out in the first Test, felt really good and took a risk and threw away a few more runs,” he said.
In the three innings, he racked up 531 runs including two hundreds, of which one was the epic 367 not out, at an average of 265.50, besides snaring seven wickets at 15.28.
“Coming into this game, I tried my best, just let the outcome go and focussed on what I could do in the moment. It all came together. I just want to play, whatever role, the coach makes the decision. I’ll try and perform. We go to the subcontinent from here, my role might change but I just want to perform. Lot of guys put up their hand, everyone contributed in their own ways and that’s good to see for South African cricket,” he added.
This was South Africa’s fourth most prolific innings win and extended their winning streak to 10 matches, their best run of victories and the fourth best ever. Craig Irvine, the Zimbabwe captain stressed on the need to learn lessons, as his side extended the winless run to 15 games. “There’s a lot of lessons, the way the South African bowlers grouped, we can learn from that. From Wiaan Mulder, the tempo at which he batted, didn’t change too much, we can learn a fair bit. It’s time for us to show it out in the middle. Enough has been said, time to put it into action. Bennett should be good to go soon.
South Africa’s next Test series, after a clutch of white-ball formalities, is in November, when they tour India for a two-match series.
