Twenty-year-old South African cricketer Lhuan-dre Pretorius has rewritten the record books, posting an unbeaten 188 off 79 deliveries in Bloemfontein. Playing for the Titans against the Knights in the CSA Challenge, the left-handed opener surpassed Chris Gayle’s legendary 175, which the West Indian set for Bengaluru in the 2013 Indian Premier League. The 20-year-old left-hander opened the batting and hit 13 sixes and 14 fours in his innings to surpass Gayle’s 175 for Bengaluru in the India, playing for the Titans against the Knights in the South African CSA Challenge.
Pretorius displayed incredible acceleration during his historic knock, reaching his 50 in 24 balls, his century in another 16, and hitting the 150-run mark just 18 balls later. His innings featured 13 sixes and 14 fours. By comparison, Gayle’s 2013 record was achieved off 66 balls, anchored by 17 sixes and 13 fours. By facing the equivalent of over 13 overs, the young South African also tied the record for the most balls faced in a T20 innings, matching Australian players Aaron Finch and Marcus Stoinis.
The dominance of Pretorius was evident as the Titans reached a total of 267-3, with the next highest contributor being Sinethemba Qeshile on just 14 runs. This performance marks the second-highest total in the competition’s history, trailing only the 271-run score the Titans recorded against the Kings in 2022, a game in which Dewald Brevis previously set the competition record with 162 runs. The Titans ultimately secured a decisive 124-run victory by dismissing the Knights for 143.
Pretorius, who has represented his country in all three international formats, entered the season in strong form after tying with Brevis for the most runs—226—during a three-nation series in Namibia in September. Data from Cricinfo indicates that the young batter maintains a career T20 strike rate of 150.44 across 91 appearances.
