Bloemfontein [South Africa], October 3 (ANI): South Africa’s Lhuan-dre Pretorius smashed an unbeaten 188 off 79 balls to break Chris Gayle’s record for the highest individual score in men’s T20 cricket during the CSA T20 Challenge match between Titans and Knights in Bloemfontein.
The 20-year-old left-hander surpassed Gayle’s unbeaten 175 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Pune Warriors India in the 2013 Indian Premier League, ending the West Indian’s 13-year hold on the record.
Pretorius launched his assault from the beginning, reaching his half-century in 24 balls before bringing up his century in just 40 deliveries. He raced to 150 in 58 balls and continued his onslaught to finish with 15 fours and 13 sixes at a strike rate of 237.97.
He fell just 12 runs short of becoming the first batter to score a double-century in men’s T20 cricket.
Pretorius’ innings also matched Aaron Finch and Marcus Stoinis’ record for the longest innings in men’s T20 cricket in terms of balls faced, with all three having faced 79 deliveries.
His explosive knock propelled Titans to 267/3, the second-highest total in the history of the CSA T20 Challenge. Titans’ own 271/3 against Knights in 2022 remains the competition’s highest total.
Pretorius also went past Dewald Brevis’ 162, which had stood as the highest individual score in the CSA T20 Challenge. The Titans opener’s innings came in his first match of the 2026-27 season and extended a remarkable run of form.
He had scored 94 and 101 in his previous two matches for South Africa against Zimbabwe and Namibia in a tri-series in September.
Despite having played only 22 internationals across formats, Pretorius has already featured in 91 T20 matches and has a career strike rate of 150.44 in the format.
The record-breaking innings capped a remarkable day for the young opener, who now holds the highest individual score ever recorded in men’s T20 cricket. (ANI)
