India, July 9 -- Wiaan Mulder's decision to declare South Africa's innings when he was batting on 367, just 33 runs short of matching Brian Lara's world record for the highest-ever score of 400, has divided the cricket world like nothing else in recent times. Former West Indies captain, Chris Gayle, who knows a thing or two about scoring big triple centuries -- he has one against Sri Lanka (333) and another against South Africa (317) -- said Mulder "panicked" and "blundered" by not going for Lara's 400 against Zimbabwe in the second Test.

Mulder, who went Hashim Amla's 311* to register the highest score by a South African batter, rose to fifth in the all-time highest scorers list in a Test innings. His was the highest score by a batter a...