South Africa's Lhuan-Dre Pretorius played a stunning innings to set a new world record for the highest individual score in men's T20 cricket. The Titans opener hit an unbeaten 188 off just 79 balls in the CSA T20 Challenge to eclipse Chris Gayle's long-standing record.

Pretorius bettered Gayle's unbeaten 175 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Pune Warriors India in the 2013 Indian Premier League.

The 20-year-old left-hander has equaled Gayle's previous best score of 175 in his 160-ball innings against Knights in Bloemfontein. Gayle's record had stood for 13 years before Pretorius equaled it.

Lhuan-Dre Pretorius falls just short of T20 double-century

Pretorius wasted no time in unleashing his attack, reaching his half-century in only 24 balls before finding his century in 40 deliveries. He accelerated to another level to get to 150 in only 58 balls, and eventually finished up unbeaten on 188, hitting 15 fours and 13 sixes, with a strike rate of 237.97.

The Titans opener nearly became the first-ever batsman to score a double-hundred in men's T20, falling just 12 short of the mark.

Pretorius also equaled the record for the most balls faced in a men's T20 innings with 79.

Pretorius' extraordinary knock saw the Titans post a commanding 267/3, the second-highest team total by them in CSA T20 Challenge history. The Titans still hold the record with 271/3 they posted against the Knights last year.

Pretorius also bettered the previous mark set by Dewald Brevis of 162, which he achieved in the CSA T20 Challenge. Pretorius did this in his first game of the 2026-27 season, which is part of an excellent run he is currently enjoying in his fledgling career.

The young opener also made his mark during the South African tri-series against Zimbabwe and Namibia in September, after posting an unbeaten 94 and a 101 in his previous two appearances for the national team.

Despite having only 22 international matches to his name across all formats, Pretorius has already been a part of 91 T20 games. He has also had a strike rate of 150.44, which speaks volumes about his explosive batting at T20.

Pretorius is now on record as the highest scorer for an individual innings in T20 cricket with his unbeaten 188, bringing a spectacular end to Gayle's 13-year reign.