Pretorius 188* breaks Gayle's record for highest T20 score

South Africa's Lhuan-dre Pretorius has broken Chris Gayle's long-standing record for the highest men's T20 score as he blazed away to an unbeaten 188 off just 79 deliveries for the Titans against the Knights in the CSA T20 Challenge in Bloemfontein. The 20-year-old fell just 12 runs short of what could have been a historic first T20 double-century.

Pretorius, with his third T20 century, surpassed Gayle's 175 not out for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against the now defunct Pune Warriors in 2013.

Pretorius also tied with Aaron Finch and Marcus Stoinis for the longest innings in men's T20s in terms of balls faced.

The left-handed opening batter hit 13 sixes and 15 fours as he tore into the Knights bowlers, all of whose economy rates were 11 or higher. Titans finished on 267 for 3, the second-highest score in the competition's history, behind their own 271 for 3 against the same opposition in 2022. That match also boasted of the highest individual score in the CSA T20 Challenge - Dewald Brevis' 162 - before Pretorius' epic. Titans now hold the five highest team totals in CSA T20 Challenge history.

This was Pretorius' first game of the 2026-27 season, and he came into the competition on the back of some destructive form. In his last two matches, he had scored 94 and 101 respectively against Zimbabwe and Namibia in a tri-series in September. He has played just 22 internationals across formats, but this was Pretorius' 91st T20, a format in which he strikes at 150.44.