In Bloemfontein on Friday, October 2, Lhuan-dre Pretorius rewrote the record books by scoring an unbeaten 188 off 79 deliveries for the Titans against the Knights in the CSA T20 Challenge. The 20-year-old opener’s innings has now become the highest individual score in men’s T20 cricket, and he was within 12 runs of making the format’s first double-century.
Chris Gayle held the previous record, hitting 175 runs without being out for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in a 2013 IPL match against the Pune Warriors, which is now defunct. Pretorius’s third T20 hundred, which he achieved with a breathtaking display of immaculate hitting, wiped away a mark that had endured for more than a decade.
The Knights’ attack was punished by Pretorius, a left-handed opener, who hit 13 sixes and 15 fours. At an economy rate of 11 or higher, each bowler in the Knights’ lineup conceded. The second-highest total in the history of the CSA T20 Challenge was achieved by the Titans, who scored 267 for 3. The Titans have also amassed the competition’s all-time greatest team score, 271 for 3, which was achieved against the same opponents in 2022. In the competition’s records, the franchise currently possesses all five of the highest team totals.
How soon did Pretorius accomplish each milestone?
Immediately, Pretorius asserted his dominance over the match. His fifty was achieved in just 24 deliveries, and he required only 16 additional balls to reach a century. In total, he reached three figures with 40 deliveries. He reached 150 off 58 deliveries and ultimately finished with 188 not out from 79 balls.
At the same time, Pretorius matched the record for the longest innings in men’s T20 cricket, as measured by the number of balls faced, by joining Aaron Finch and Marcus Stoinis on 79 deliveries. The innings marked his 91st appearance in Twenty20 cricket, a format in which he has a career strike rate of 150.44.
In this record-breaking match, what format did Pretorius employ?
Pretorius’ opening match of the 2026-27 CSA T20 Challenge season was on Saturday, and he arrived in top form. In September, he scored 94 and 101 in consecutive matches against Zimbabwe and Namibia, respectively, during a tri-series. This performance confirmed his capacity to score heavily at the top of the order in a variety of conditions.
Also Read : Dinesh Karthik on KL Rahul’s Batting Opportunities in West Indies ODIs
The 2022 Titans versus Knights match, which remains the competition’s highest team total, was also the match in which Dewald Brevis established the previous record for the highest individual score in the CSA T20 Challenge with 162. The Titans have acquired a firm hold on the most significant batting landmarks in the competition, as Pretorius has now also claimed that individual record. Making his dominance of the domestic T20 record books all the more striking, Pretorius has played only 22 internationals across all formats.
