South Africa youngster Lhuan-dre Pretorius scored twin fifties in a CSA 4-Day Series Division 1 match between Titans and Boland.
After securing a 250-run first-innings lead, Boland enforced a follow-on. The Titans slipped to 67-3 before Pretorius and Sibonelo Makhanya staged a fightback, building a 122-run partnership.
Pretorius brought up his second successive fifty of the match, reaching the milestone off 78 deliveries with a four against Boland seamer Nathan Jacobs. He faced another 57 balls before perishing for a 135-ball 75, an innings laced with nine fours and a six. His dismissal left the Titans at 189-4, still trailing by 61 runs.
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Pretorius had hit 57 off 82 in the Titans' first innings as well, which was once teetering at 125-6. A recovery was then staged by South Africa’s newly named T20I captain, Donovan Ferreira (123) and No. 8 Dayyaan Galiem (110*), yet they could only manage 366 in response to Boland's 616-9d.
Lhuan-dre Pretorius continues good form after record-breaking Test debut
This was Pretorius's first first-class outing since his memorable Test debut against Zimbabwe back in July. On that occasion, he smashed 153 off 160 balls, becoming the youngest South African batter to score a men’s Test century. At 19 years and 93 days, Pretorius broke Graeme Pollock’s record of 19 years and 317 days, which was set against Australia in the 1963/64 season.
The teenage sensation subsequently made his T20I debut against the same opposition later that month in a tri-series that also involved New Zealand. He had a disappointing start, scoring a duck. His next three innings were also underwhelming, with scores of 27, 4, and 1. However, he saved his best for last, scoring a 35-ball 51 against New Zealand in the final, albeit in a losing cause.
Pretorius has so far represented South Africa in 10 T20I matches, with his most recent appearance coming in the 1-1 drawn series against England in September.
