Lhuan-dre Pretorius struck his maiden T20I fifty and top-scored in the match in South Africa’s three-run loss to New Zealand in the final of the Zimbabwe T20 Tri-Series 2025 at Harare Sports Club on Saturday.
Tasked with chasing down a competitive target of 181, Lhuan-dre Pretorius opened the batting for the Proteas and scored 51 off 35 balls, hitting five fours and two sixes along the way.
The 19-year-old wicketkeeper-batter scored the only fifty of the match. Kiwis’ Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra, however, came close earlier in the match with 47 each.
Pretorius, who was a part of the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2025, got off the mark with a boundary and alongside Reeza Hendricks, guided the South Africa cricket team to a steady 46/0 by the end of the powerplay.
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The 19-year-old then switched gears after the powerplay and reached his maiden T20I fifty in style by hitting New Zealand’s Michael Bracewell for a six at the start of the 10th over.
Pretorius was dismissed three balls later, but his brisk knock had laid a strong foundation for South Africa’s chase although it wasn’t enough in the end.
The left-hander’s maiden T20I half-century is the latest highlight in what is proving to be a breakthrough year in international cricket for the youngster.
The hard-hitting southpaw announced himself on the international stage by becoming the youngest South African to score a Test century against Zimbabwe last month.
Pretorius broke the long-standing South African record held by Graeme Pollock, who was 19 years and 317 days old when he scored 122 against Australia in Sydney in 1964.
It also made him just the seventh South African to make a Test hundred on debut and the first since Stephen Cook in 2016.
He went on to make 153 off 160 balls in the knock and also became the youngest player in Test history to make 150 on debut at 19 years and 93 days.
Pretorius broke the record previously held by Pakistan’s Javed Miandad, who was 19 years and 119 days old when he scored 163 against New Zealand in 1976.
