Wiaan Mulder: Brian Lara told me I should have gone for record

Mulder, captaining South Africa in the absence of regular skipper Temba Bavuma, made headlines after declaring the innings with an unbeaten 367 to his name - just 33 runs shy of Lara's iconic 400 not out, set against England in 2004.

At the time, Mulder said he was content stepping away from the milestone, calling Lara's record "exactly the way it should be." However, he has since shared that Lara himself had a different perspective.

"Now that things have settled a little bit, I've chatted a little bit to Brian Lara," Mulder told SuperSport. "He said to me I'm creating my own legacy and I should have gone for it. He said records are there to be broken and he wishes if I'm ever in that position again, I actually go and score more than what he had."

Despite Lara's blessing, Mulder remains firm in his decision. "That was an interesting point of view from his side," he added. "But I still believe I did the right thing - and respecting the game is the most important part for me."

Mulder's 367 not out is now the highest individual score by a South African in Test cricket and ranks fifth on the all-time list. His declaration came at lunch on day two, and South Africa went on to seal an innings-and-236-run victory inside three days.

Head coach Shukri Conrad had reportedly supported the call, telling Mulder, "Let the legends keep the really big scores."

Still, the decision has sparked debate in the cricketing world. Former West Indies opener Chris Gayle, one of only four players with multiple triple centuries in Tests, was among those to question the call.

"Maybe he panicked a bit," Gayle told talkSPORT. "It was an error. If I could get the chance to get 400, I would get 400. You don't know when you're going to get to a triple century again. If you want to be a legend how are you going to become a legend? Records come with being a legend."

While opinion remains divided, Mulder's performance has already etched his name into the record books - and the conversation around sporting legacy versus team-first leadership is likely to linger well beyond this match.