Lhuan-dre Pretorius breaks Chris Gayle's record for highest T20 score

BLOEMFONTEIN: South Africa's Lhuan-dre Pretorius has broken Chris Gayle's long-standing record for the highest individual score in men's T20 cricket, smashing an unbeaten 188 off just 79 balls for the Titans against the Knights in the CSA T20 Challenge at the Mangaung Oval.

The 20-year-old fell just 12 runs short of becoming the first batter to score a double-century in a T20 innings, but his remarkable knock surpassed Gayle's unbeaten 175 for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League in 2013.

Most runs in a men's T20 innings

• Lhuan-dre Pretorius — 188* off 79, Titans vs Knights, 2 October 2026
• Chris Gayle — 175* off 66, Royal Challengers Bangalore vs Pune Warriors, 23 April 2013
• Aaron Finch — 172 off 76, Australia vs Zimbabwe, 3 July 2018
• Karanbir Singh — 164 off 57, Austria vs Hungary, 28 June 2026
• Hamza Khan — 164* off 65, Rwanda vs Ivory Coast, 24 May 2026
• Hazratullah Zazai — 162* off 62, Afghanistan vs Ireland, 23 February 2019
• Mohammad Ihsan — 160 off 63, Spain vs Croatia, 7 December 2025

Pretorius brought up his third T20 century in emphatic fashion. He reached his half-century from 24 balls before taking just another 16 deliveries to reach three figures. He then raced to 150 from 58 balls.

The left-handed opener smashed 15 fours and 13 sixes during his explosive innings, with every Knights bowler conceding at an economy rate of at least 11.

His 79-ball stay at the crease also saw him equal Aaron Finch and Marcus Stoinis for the longest innings in men's T20 cricket in terms of balls faced.

Pretorius' extraordinary knock helped the Titans post 267 for three, the second-highest total in CSA T20 Challenge history. The competition record remains with the Titans' 271 for three against the Knights in 2022.

That match had also produced the previous highest individual score in the tournament, with Dewald Brevis smashing 162. Following Pretorius' latest effort, the Titans now hold the five highest team totals in CSA T20 Challenge history.

The innings marked Pretorius' first appearance of the 2026-27 season, although he entered the competition in formidable form. He had scored 94 and 101 in his previous two matches for South Africa against Zimbabwe and Namibia respectively in a tri-series in September.

Despite having played only 22 internationals across formats, Pretorius has already featured in 91 T20 matches and boasts an impressive career strike rate of 150.44 in the format.