South Africa Star Lhuan-dre Pretorius Shatters Chris Gayle's Historic T20 Record Score

Lhuan-dre Pretorius has represented South Africa in all three international formats. The 20-year-old left-handed batsman delivered a phenomenal performance in Bloemfontein by hitting an unbeaten 188 off just 79 deliveries, breaking Chris Gayle’s long-standing record score in the T20 format.

Playing for the Titans against the Knights in the South African CSA Challenge, Pretorius opened the batting and smashed 13 sixes and 14 fours. His remarkable innings surpassed Gayle’s famous score of 175, which was set for Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League back in 2013.

Pretorius reached his half-century in 24 balls, needed another 16 deliveries to reach his century, and took just 18 more to surge to 150. By comparison, Gayle had scored his 175 off 66 balls, striking 17 sixes and 13 fours. Making his first Titans appearance of the season following a strong showing in Namibia in September, Pretorius dominated the strike. He faced the equivalent of more than 13 overs, tying Australians Aaron Finch and Marcus Stoinis for the most balls faced in a single T20 innings.

Support was minimal as the second-highest scorer for the Titans was Sinethemba Qeshile with 14 runs, helping the team finish on 267-3. The Titans then bowled out the Knights for just 143 to secure a convincing 124-run victory. This total marked the second-highest in the competition's history, sitting just behind the Titans' own score of 271 against the Kings in 2022, a match where Dewald Brevis previously set the competition record with 162 runs before being outshone by Pretorius's new milestone.