South African wunderkid breaks Chris Gayle's world record for the highest-ever T20 score

Playing his first game of the CSA T20 Challenge this season, Pretorius registered the highest-ever individual score in a T20, going past Chris Gayle’s unbeaten 175, which came against Pune Warriors India in the 2013 IPL. His 188* helped the Titans get to 267-3, the second-highest score in the tournament’s history.

Pretorius, who came into the tournament after a 94 and a 101 against Zimbabwe and Namibia in the T20I tri-series, went past the 50-run mark off just 24 deliveries, hitting three consecutive fours in the fifth over to get to the landmark.

The Titans put on 112 runs for the opening partnership, in which Sinethemba Queshile made just 14 off 10, while Pretorius contributed with 93. The Titans soon lost Dewald Brevis for an 11-ball 7, but Pretorious continued to take the attack to the Knights. The 20-year-old brought up a hundred off 40 deliveries, taking just 16 balls to convert his fifty into three figures.

Lhuan-dre Pretorius deals in maximums 🤌💥

His 188 runs in the #Pro20Cup is a new T20 record for an individual innings 🤯👏#SSCricket pic.twitter.com/PbHrjGFWfh

— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) October 3, 2026

And it didn’t stop there. Just before losing Leus du Plooy for 17, Pretorius got to 150 off 58 deliveries. He then added 68 for the fourth wicket with skipper Donovan Ferreira, who also scored a brisk 11-ball 29* to take the Titans to a mammoth 267-3.

The Knights were kept down to 143, with the Titans claiming a 124-run victory.

Pretorius, only 20 years old, already has several records to his name: He is the youngest to score a T20I hundred from a Full Member country (making 101 off 52 against Namibia), and is also the youngest South African with a Test ton, when he made 153 on debut against Zimbabwe last year.

Highest individual scores in T20 cricket

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