South African left-hander Lhuan-dre Pretorius has rewritten the record books by smashing the highest individual score in T20 cricket history. During a South African CSA Challenge match in Bloemfontein, the 20-year-old opened for the Titans and finished unbeaten on 188 from just 79 deliveries, eclipsing the previous record of 175 set by Chris Gayle for Bengaluru in the 2013 Indian Premier League.
Pretorius dominated the strike throughout his innings, recording 14 fours and 13 sixes. He reached his half-century in 24 balls, accelerated to his century in 40 deliveries, and reached the 150-run mark just 18 balls later. By facing 79 deliveries, he equaled the T20 record for the most balls faced in a single innings, a mark previously held by Australians Aaron Finch and Marcus Stoinis. Gayle’s 2013 record-setting performance had required 66 balls. Needed 16 more to get to his century and took another 18 to hit 150, pretorius reached 50 in 24 balls.
The Titans capitalized on the opener’s performance to finish with a commanding 267-3. Sinethemba Qeshile provided the next highest contribution with 14 runs as the team recorded the second-highest total in competition history. The record remains the 271 scored by the Titans against the Kings in 2022, a match where Dewald Brevis set a previous competition record of 162. In Friday’s fixture, the Titans successfully defended their total by bowling the Knights out for 143 to secure a 124-run victory.
Pretorius, who has represented South Africa across all three international formats, was playing his first Titans match of the current season following a productive outing in a September three-nation series in Namibia. Statistics from Cricinfo indicate the young batter now carries a career strike rate of 150.44 across 91 T20 appearances.
