Lhuan-dre Pretorius now holds the highest individual score in T20 cricket. The 20-year-old Titans opener made 188 not out off 79 balls against the Knights at Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein, on 2 October 2026.
That beats Chris Gayle’s 175 not out for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in the 2013 IPL, a record that stood for 13 years. Titans made 267/3 and bowled the Knights out for 143 to win by 124 runs.
Speaking at the innings break, he admitted he had not known about the record.
“I didn’t even know that. Flip he’s a legend of the game. But I said when I scored my hundred in Namibia, I broke a record there, but I just said records come and go, you just always try give your best.”
Lhuan-dre Pretorius, innings-break interview, 2 October 2026
The scorecard shows a hundred off 40 balls. What it hides is that the last 38 runs, off 21 balls, were the hardest part of the innings.
Pretorius reached fifty off 24 balls and his hundred off 40. He passed 150 off 58 balls. The final 38 runs came off his last 21.
He hit 15 fours and 13 sixes at a strike rate of 237.97. He made 188 of the Titans’ 267.
🚨 CHRIS GAYLE’S 175 IS NO LONGER THE HIGHEST INDIVIDUAL T20 SCORE!
Lhuan-dre Pretorius breaks a record that stood for 13 years with a pulsating 188 (79) in the CSA T20 Challenge 🙌🙌 pic.twitter.com/LEhPsQi3xd
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) October 3, 2026
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The first hundred comes while the captain is still trying to get you out. Once a batter passes 150 in a T20, nobody attacks him anymore. The fielders go to the rope, every ball is aimed at the blockhole or wide of off stump, and a single is treated as a win.
The body becomes the second opponent. After 58 balls of hard running and full swings, the legs go first, and with them the base that powers a big hit. Scoring 38 off 21 at that stage, against bowling built only to stop you, is a harder skill than a 40-ball hundred.
The New Top 3 Highest T20 Scores
| Rank | Player | Score | Balls | Match | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lhuan-dre Pretorius | 188* | 79 | Titans vs Knights | 2026 |
| 2 | Chris Gayle | 175* | 66 | RCB vs Pune Warriors | 2013 |
| 3 | Aaron Finch | 172 | 76 | Australia vs Zimbabwe | 2018 |
Pretorius also passed Titans teammate Dewald Brevis, whose 162 off 57 balls in 2022 was the previous South African T20 record. Brevis made his against the Knights too.
His 79 balls equal Aaron Finch and Marcus Stoinis for the longest T20 innings by balls faced.
The Titans’ 267/3 is the second-highest total in the competition, behind their own 271/3 from 2022. Donovan Ferreira and Junior Dala then took three wickets each.
“I feel really good. Playing for the badge is really cool, I love the Titans.”
Lhuan-dre Pretorius, innings-break interview, 2 October 2026
The record came a month after his 101 against Namibia on 4 September, which made him the youngest T20I centurion from a full-member nation. In 2025 he scored 153 on Test debut against Zimbabwe at 19, the youngest South African to make a Test century.
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