Young South African batter, Luan-Dre Pretorius, set a historic record by scoring an impressive century against Namibia. In the three-match series held in Windhoek on Friday (September 4), Pretorius scored 101 runs off just 53 balls. Thanks to his explosive performance, South Africa defeated Namibia by 11 runs.
In his innings, Pretorius hit 5 fours and 8 sixes. His strike rate was 190.57. This century was his first in T20 International, and with this innings, he achieved a special record: he became the youngest player to score a century in T20 International for a senior team. He broke the record of Hajrullah Jajji from Afghanistan. Jajji achieved this feat in 2019 at the age of 20 years and 337 days, whereas Pretorius scored his century at the age of 20 years and 161 days.
After this match, Luan-Dre Pretorius began to be compared to the young Indian star, Vaibhav Suryavanshi. The interesting connection between them is that they both play for 'Rajasthan Royals' (RR) in the IPL (Indian Premier League). Vaibhav is only 15 years old and has already set many major records. He is the youngest player to represent India in international cricket, as well as the youngest Indian to score a half-century in T20 International.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi has also come close to an international century. Previously, he played a strong innings of 81 runs off 49 balls against Zimbabwe but could not complete a century. Now, his focus is on achieving a century. Upcoming T20 series against Afghanistan and the Asian Games could be major opportunities for Vaibhav to prove himself.
In the match, South Africa, having lost the toss, started batting and scored 228 runs in 20 overs. Luan-Dre Pretorius, along with Connor Esterhuizen, formed a magnificent partnership of 156 runs in the first innings. Esterhuizen played an aggressive innings of 88 runs.
Chasing a target of 229 runs, Namibia also kept the tension high in the match. Jan Frylink scored 72 runs, and Lauren Steenkamp scored 61 runs. They provided the team with a strong start, adding 119 runs in the first innings, but the Namibian team could only manage 217 runs in 20 overs.
The final match of the three-series will take place on Sunday between South Africa and Zimbabwe.