Lhuan-dre Pretorius smashes unbeaten 188 to break Chris Gayle's world T20 record

A record knock in Bloemfontein

Lhuan-dre Pretorius has broken Chris Gayle's long-standing record for the highest score in a men's T20 match, blasting an unbeaten 188 in a domestic fixture in South Africa.

The 20-year-old South African's innings came off just 79 deliveries and included 13 sixes and 15 fours as Titans piled up 267-3 from their 20 overs against Knights in the CSA T20 Challenge at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein.

Gayle's mark falls

The innings eclipsed the 175 not out Gayle made for Royal Challengers Bangalore (now Bengaluru) against Pune Warriors in the 2013 Indian Premier League — a mark that had stood as the benchmark for the biggest individual score in men's T20 cricket for more than a decade.

Pretorius, who has played 17 T20s, three one-day internationals and two Tests for South Africa, finished with a strike rate of 237.97. He brought up his half-century from only 24 balls, needed just 16 more deliveries to reach three figures, and got to 150 off a mere 58 balls.

Bowling job completes a rout

Titans' bowlers then finished the job, skittling Knights for 143 in 17.2 overs to wrap up an emphatic 124-run victory. Knights' top order was never allowed to settle, with a three-wicket haul leading the demolition of the reply.

The result and the scale of Pretorius' hitting underlined his growing reputation as one of South African cricket's most destructive young batting talents.

Match scorecard

• Titans 267-3 (20 overs): Pretorius 188* (79); Boast 1-46
• Knights 143 (17.2 overs): Cloete 39 (25); Ferreira 3-16
• Titans won by 124 runs — CSA T20 Challenge, Mangaung Oval, Bloemfontein