Lhuan-dre Pretorius produced a record-breaking innings for the Titans, scoring 188 not out from 79 deliveries against the Knights in Bloemfontein in the South African CSA Challenge.
The 20-year-old left-hander opened the batting and struck 13 sixes and 14 fours, moving beyond Chris Gayle’s previous record T20 score of 175. Gayle made that score for Bengaluru in the Indian Premier League in 2013.
Fast progress through the innings
Pretorius reached 50 from 24 balls, then required 16 more deliveries to bring up his century. He moved from 100 to 150 in a further 18 balls before completing his unbeaten 188.
His innings lasted the equivalent of more than 13 overs. According to the reported comparison, Pretorius also tied Aaron Finch and Marcus Stoinis for the most balls faced in a T20 innings.
Pretorius was making his first Titans appearance of the season. He has represented South Africa in all three international formats and had scored 226 runs in a three-nation series in Namibia in September, matching Dewald Brevis for the leading aggregate in that series.
Titans post second-highest competition total
The Titans finished their innings on 267-3, the second-highest total in the competition’s history. Their higher mark remains the 271 they scored against the Kings in 2022.
Sinethemba Qeshile was the Titans’ second-highest scorer in the match with 14 runs. Brevis, who scored 162 in the 2022 match that produced the previous competition record, made seven this time.
The Knights were bowled out for 143, giving the Titans a 124-run victory.
Cricinfo calculated Pretorius’s strike rate at 150.44 across 91 T20 games.
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