Zimbabwe's Brendan Taylor breaks Sikandar Raza's all-time T20I record with lightning 54-ball 123 in T20WC African Qualifier

Brendan Taylor's historic 123 in T20WC Qualifiers

Brendan Taylor's blistering century has etched his name into the record books. At the age of 39 years and 234 days, he is now the oldest player from a Full Member nation to score a men's T20I hundred, shattering Sikandar Raza’s previous record by more than a year.

In fact, only one batter in the history of the format has scored a T20I century at a slightly older age: Avinash Pai of Gibraltar. Pai was just 38 days older than Taylor is today when he achieved the feat.

Walking in at number three after an early wicket fell, Taylor wasted no time, attacking from his second delivery. He formed a destructive 112-run stand off just 51 balls for the second wicket with Brian Bennett. Even after Bennett's dismissal, Taylor continued his onslaught. He reached his century in just 46 balls during the 17th over, and immediately followed it up with a six and a four. Taylor appeared set to break the record for the highest individual T20I score by a Zimbabwe batter, held by Sikandar Raza's 133 against Gambia in 2024. Unfortunately, he had to retire out at a score of 123, falling just short of matching Raza's heroic knock.

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Brendan Taylor's blistering innings was marked by his dominance against the pace bowlers. He faced 47 of his 54 deliveries from pacers, against whom he scored a formidable 102 runs at a strike-rate of 217.02. Against the spinners, he was equally aggressive, hitting 21 runs off just seven balls. This unforgettable knock from one of Zimbabwe's finest helped propel the team to a massive total of 259 runs.

With the T20 World Cup 2026 qualification on the line, Zimbabwe will be desperately hoping that Taylor's reason for retiring out was not due to a serious injury and that he remains fit for the upcoming matches. The team is under pressure to qualify, having missed out on the 2024 T20 World Cup. Zimbabwe's last appearance in a major ICC tournament was back in 2022.

Oldest men’s T20I centurions from Full Members:

Oldest men’s T20I centurions: