Wiaan Mulder sacrificed a shot at one of cricket’s most hallowed records to start mopping up Zimbabwe in the second Test at Queens Sports Club on Monday.

The first-time captain of South Africa was on 367, just 33 runs away from tying the highest individual Test score, Brian Lara’s 400 not out 21 years ago, when he stopped his epic innings and declared at Lunch with South Africa on 626-5.

He then chipped in with two wickets in consecutive overs and a catch to bowl out Zimbabwe for 170, enforced the follow-on, and had Zimbabwe 51-1 in the second innings at stumps.

Already 1-0 up in the short series, South Africa was 405 runs ahead and gearing toward wrapping up another three-day win on Tuesday.

Mulder finished with the fifth highest score in Tests, and the highest by a South African.

He started the day on 264 and the second new ball only eight overs old. But he picked up where he left off on Sunday, plundering the Zimbabwe bowlers.

When he became the second South African to the 300 landmark, guiding Tanaka Chivanga’s yorker to fine leg for a single, he took off his helmet, smiled and raised his bat to bathe in the applause.

Mulder’s 297 balls to the milestone was the second fastest to 300 after India’s Virender Sehwag took 278 balls versus South Africa in 2008.

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Mulder became the highest-scoring South African in tests when he eclipsed Hashim Amla’s 311 not out against England in 2012.

He raced from 300 to 350 in 27 balls, and gave his dressing room a salute.

He went from 300 to 367 in 37 balls then hardly faced another ball. Kyle Verreynne had the strike for most of the last four overs to Lunch and was 42 not out.

Mulder’s 334-ball knock in just under seven hours included 49 boundaries and four sixes.

The only higher scores in Test history were Lara’s unbeaten 400 and 375, Matthew Hayden’s 380 and Mahela Jayawardene’s 374.

In the morning session, Mulder scored 103 of South Africa’s 161 runs, which came at an average 6.1 per over. The only wicket to fall was Dewald Brevis, 15 overnight, for 30, giving Zimbabwe debutant Kundai Matigimu a second wicket.