South African cricket prodigy Lhuan-dre Pretorius has etched his name into the record books of T20 cricket, breaking the 11-year-old record for the highest individual score in men’s T20 cricket with a stunning unbeaten 188 in the CSA T20 Challenge held at Bloemfontein’s Mangaung Oval.
The 20-year-old international, who already has Test, ODI and T20 caps for South Africa, delivered a masterclass in power hitting to anchor his side Titans’ innings, facing just 79 deliveries to reach his historic total. His knock included 13 towering sixes and 15 clinical fours, ending with a blistering strike rate of 237.97 that kept the scoreboard ticking at a relentless pace.
Pretorius’s innings was a study in controlled aggression from the first ball. He brought up his half-century off just 24 deliveries, then accelerated even further to reach his century in only 40 balls – 16 additional deliveries after his fifty. He crossed the 150-mark in 58 balls, surpassing the previous record of 175 set by West Indian legend Chris Gayle in the 2013 Indian Premier League, where Gayle hit the score for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors.
By the end of Titans’ 20 overs, the side had posted an imposing total of 267 runs for the loss of just three wickets, putting Knights under enormous pressure from the start of their run chase. Knights could never recover from the high required run rate, being bowled out for 143 in 17.2 overs, with top scorer Patrick Cloete making 39 off 25 deliveries. Medium-pacer Ferreira was the pick of Titans’ bowlers, taking three wickets for just 16 runs, to help seal a dominant 124-run victory for the franchise.
Already a established member of South Africa’s national setup across all three formats, Pretorius has already hit a century in both Test cricket and T20I cricket for the Proteas, adding this domestic record to his growing list of career achievements at just 20 years old.