188 not out: SA star breaks Chris Gayle’s T20 world record score of 175*

South Africa star Lhuan-dre Pretorius smashed Chris Gayle's T20 world record with a score of 188 not out. (Cricket Namibia/BCCI)

South Africa batting sensation Lhuan-dre Pretorius on Saturday smashed West Indies legend Chris Gayle’s T20 world record score with an unbeaten 189 off 75 deliveries in the CSA T20 Challenge.

Opening the batting for Titans against Knights in Bloemfontein, the young Proteas left-hander went on a rampage, smashing 15 fours and 13 sixes as he remained unbeaten, propelling his side to 267 for three in 20 overs.

The whirlwind knock eclipsed Gayle’s record T20 score of 175 for Royal Challengers Bangalore (now Bengaluru) against the Pune Warriors in the 2013 Indian Premier League (IPL).

Finishing just short of a landmark men’s double century, it was Pretorius’ third T20 century in only 91 matches. Pretorius has been in superb form in the format, having racked up 101 and 94 in his previous two T20I innings for South Africa against Namibia and Zimbabwe, respectively.

Blistering from the outset, Pretorius brought up his half-century in just 24 deliveries and needed only 16 more to convert it into a 40-ball hundred. Pushing on to 150 off 58 balls, he matched Aaron Finch and Marcus Stoinis for the longest innings in men’s T20 history by balls faced.

Highest Men’s T20 Individual Scores

Player	Runs	4s	6s	SR	Opposition	Date
LG Pretorius	188*	15	13	237.97	v Knights	2 Oct 2026
(Titans)
CH Gayle	175*	13	17	265.15	v Warriors	23 Apr 2013
(Royal Challengers Bangalore)
AJ Finch	172	16	10	226.31	v Zimbabwe	3 Jul 2018
(Australia)
Hamza Khan	164*	9	15	252.3	v Ivory Coast	24 May 2026
(Rwanda)
Karanbir Singh	164	18	12	287.71	v Hungary	28 Jun 2026
(Austria)
H Masakadza	162*	14	11	228.16	v Eagles	11 Feb 2016
(Mountaineers)
Hazratullah Zazai	162*	11	16	261.29	v Ireland	23 Feb 2019
(Afghanistan)
Sahibzada Farhan	162*	14	11	225	v Quetta	21 Mar 2025
(Peshawar Region)
D Brevis	162	13	13	284.21	v Knights	31 Oct 2022