Teenage South African batter Lhuan-dre Pretorius has ticked off another milestone in his young career with a century for Titans in the final of the CSA four-day series after the side was forced to follow on.
Pretorius came in after fellow highly-rated youngster Dewald Brevis was out for 26, leaving Titans teetering on the edge of an innings defeat at 105-3. Building a partnership with No.3 Keegan Petersen, Pretorius soon overtook the senior man, as he marched towards a hundred.
Having been six not out overnight going into the final day, Pretorius made it count on day four, as he took Titans close to securing an unlikely draw. He reached his century off his 175th ball at the crease, easing a ball from Tshepo Moreki into the leg side for a couple to take him to the milestone.
Lhuan-dre Pretorius' incredible start to first-class career
The century is Pretorius's third from just seven first-class innings in his career to date. He scored 120 on debut for Titans in December last year, and followed that innings up with a hundred in his next red-ball game as well, scoring 103 off 157 balls against Northerns last month. That second century equalled a national record for South Africa, making him the third South African player to score centuries in their first two first-class innings. So far, Pretorius has 436 runs at an average of 72.66 in his first-class career, including this game.
Pretorius has also made waves in the shorter formats. He scored 97 off 51 balls on SA20 debut earlier this year in a phenomenal chase for Paarl Royals. That innings prompted praise on social media from Ben Stokes, with Pretorius having batted alongside Joe Root during the game. Pretorius finished this year's SA20 as the league's leading run-scorer, having racked up 397 runs at a strike-rate of 166.80.
Despite Pretorius's best efforts in this week's four-day final, Titans – at the time of writing – look to be sliding towards defeat. When Pretorius was out for 114, they lost Andile Phehlukwayo in the same over, slipping to 320-6, onl 30 runs ahead with Lions still having another innings in hand.
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