On Friday, October 2, Lhuan-dre Pretorius rewrote the record books in Bloemfontein, scoring an undefeated 188 off 79 deliveries for the Titans against the Knights in the CSA T20 Challenge. The 20-year-old opener’s performance is now the greatest individual score in men’s T20 cricket, and he was 12 runs shy of the format’s first double-century.

Chris Gayle held the previous record, scoring 175 runs unbeaten for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in a 2013 IPL match against the now-defunct Pune Warriors. That record had stood for well over a decade before Pretorius swept it away with a stunning exhibition of clean hitting, his third T20 hundred.

Pretorius, a left-handed opener, blasted the Knights with 13 sixes and 15 fours. Every Knights bowler conceded with an economy rate of 11 or greater. The Titans recorded 267 for 3, the second-highest total in CSA T20 Challenge history. The Titans also have the competition’s all-time greatest team score (271 for 3 against the same opponents in 2022). The franchise now controls the competition’s top five team totals.

How quickly did Pretorius accomplish each milestone?

Pretorius wasted little time exerting himself on the match. He achieved fifty in just 24 deliveries and needed just 16 more to make a century, totalling three figures in 40 balls. He reached 150 off 58 deliveries and finished with 188 not out off 79 balls.

Pretorius also equalled Aaron Finch and Marcus Stoinis’ record for the longest innings in men’s T20 cricket measured by balls faced, with 79 deliveries. This was his 91st T20 outing, and he has a career strike rate of 150.44.

What kind of form did Pretorius bring to this record-breaking match?

Pretorius’ first appearance of the 2026-27 CSA T20 Challenge season came on Saturday, and he arrived in good form. During a tri-series in September, he hit 94 and 101 in consecutive matches against Zimbabwe and Namibia, demonstrating his ability to score big at the top of the order in a variety of conditions.

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The 2022 Titans versus Knights match, which still has the competition’s best team total, was also the one in which Dewald Brevis scored 162, breaking the previous mark for the greatest individual score in the CSA T20 Challenge. Pretorius has now broken that individual record as well, giving the Titans a tight grip on the competition’s most important batting milestone. Pretorius has only 22 international appearances across all formats, making his dominance in the domestic T20 record books all the more impressive.

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