India’s teen sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was backed by many to break Chris Gayle’s record for highest score in a T20 innings. Sooryavanshi’s stormy knocks have often proved that he is capable of doing it. But, it his Rajasthan Royals (RR) teammate, the young southpaw from South Africa, Lhuan-dre Pretorius who has broken Gayle’s record. His knock did not come in any of the T20 franchise leagues or the T20Is, it came in South Africa’s domestic T20 tournament. Going past Gayle's 175, Pretorius smashed an unbeaten 188 off 79 balls for Titans against Knights in the CSA T20 Challenge. Among notable names, Dane Piedt and Jacques Snyman are two notable names in the Knights bowling lineup which faced the brunt of Pretorius' carnage at Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein, on October 2.
Pretorius completed his fifty from 24 balls. He stepped on the accelerator in the middle overs and took just 16 more deliveries to get to his century. Then, he raced to his 150 from 58 deliveries. In the end, he remained not out for 188 from 79 balls featuring 15 fours and 13 sixes. He took his team to 267/3. His knock helped Titans bowl out Knights for 143 in 17.2 overs to register a 124-run win.
When did Gayle smash 175 in a T20 match?
Former West Indies opener Gayle aka the self proclaimed 'Universe Boss' had smashed 17 sixes and 13 fours in his unbeaten 66-ball 175 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) against now-defunct Pune Warriors in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2013 clash. The opposition bowling lineup included the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashok Dinda, Mitchell Marsh and Luke Wright.
Pretorius equals 2 Aussies’ T20 record
Pretorius missed breaking the world record for longest T20 innings in terms of balls taken. However, he ended up equalling the record held by two Australians. In July 2018, Aaron Finch faced 79 balls to score an unbeaten 131 against Sussex in England's T20 competition. In January 2020, Marcus Stoinis faced 79 balls to remain unbeaten for 147 for Melbourne Stars against Sydney Sixers in Big Bash League (BBL) 2019-20 season.
Batters who came close to breaking Gayle’s record in 2026
In 2026, Rwanda's Hamza Khan came close to getting the record in his name facing a hapless Ivory Coast team. He remained unbeaten for 164 from 65 balls. He would've scored more had skipper Didier Ndikubwimana had not faced 45 deliveries to score 69 runs. Rwanda won the game by 271 runs after bundling out Ivory Coast for just 17 runs in 15.2 overs.
Austria skipper Karanbir Singh came close to Gayle's record as well. In June 2026, he scored a 57-ball 164 against Hungary. He was dismissed for 164 in the 18th over. Had he batted till the end, he had a chance to get past 175. Austria posted 322/7, thanks to Abidullah Kotwa's unbeaten 26-ball 93. They beat Hungary by 157 runs.
The only batter in 2026 among full-member nations who had come close to breaking the record was Australia's Mitchell Owen. Playing for Washington Freedom in Major League Cricket (MLC) 2026, he scored a 68-ball 155 against MI New York. Owen had been dismissed in the 17th over with 19 balls left in the innings. He had a chance to break Gayle's record as well. Washington Freedom posted 245/5 on the board and won the game by 30 runs.
Will Pretorius get more IPL game time?
Pretorius is yet to have a breakthrough IPL season. He was roped in by Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the IPL 2025 auction for his base price of Rs 30 lakh. He made his IPL debut in IPL 2025 but did not get to bat. He played two games in IPL 2026. His debut batting innings came against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in 2026 season. He was dismissed for a two-ball duck by Praful Hinge and became part of the collapse. He got a chance against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at no.4. Walking out to bat in the 15th over, he was run out for seven runs from six balls. He is yet to hit a boundary in his IPL career.
However, Pretorius is unlikely to get more game time at RR as they have a stable opening pair in Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal. At no.3, they have backed wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel. It is yet to be seen whether RR retain Pretorius ahead of the mini-auction and look for a role more suitable for him in the team. Otherwise, Pretorius may spend most of the time on the bench. But, in the next mega auction, RR may not be able to retain him. If he continues to establish himself as an opener across T20 leagues, several franchise may be interested in roping him in.
Pretorius sends message to South Africa selectors
This is Pretorius' second consecutive T20 century. He had scored his maiden T20I century against Namibia after missing it by a narrow margin against Zimbabwe. He has scored 383 runs in his last three T20 innings. The second-string team that played the T20I series against Zimbabwe and Namibia led to chances for Pretorius in absence of big names. So far, he has played 17 T20Is and scored 427 runs at an average of 25.11 and strike rate of 150.88 including one ton and two fifties.
South Africa have a problem of plenty like many top T20I sides. They have too many options for the opener role. Skipper Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton and Quinton de Kock are three openers which means that Pretorius might have to wait longer for his turn. However, the current priority for Proteas is the next year’s World Test Championship (WTC) final and the ODI World Cup 2027 at home. This may lead to South Africa rotating their players, providing ample rest to senior players. Pretorius, who has been in a phenomenal form in T20Is, is likely to get more chances if Proteas continue to rotate players. It will be interesting to see whether South Africa stick with Pretorius for the three-T20I series against Bangladesh in December 2026.