Web desk: South Africa’s young batting talent Lhuan-dre Pretorius has broken a record that stood for almost 30 years.
He became the youngest South African player to score a half-century in One Day Internationals (ODIs) during the first match against Pakistan in Faisalabad on Tuesday.
The record was previously held by Jacques Kallis, who made a fifty at the age of 20 years and 93 days against England in Durban in 1996.
Pretorius surpassed the legendary all-rounder by reaching his first ODI half-century at just 19 years and 222 days, setting a new milestone in South African cricket.
Pretorius’ performance was another example of his quick rise in international cricket. The young left-hander had already made headlines earlier this year when he scored 153 runs off 160 balls in a Test match against Zimbabwe in July.
He has now brought the same confident and attacking style into the 50-over format.
He reached his fifty off 47 balls, playing several bold and attacking shots.
Pretorius started his innings strongly by hitting early boundaries off Naseem Shah, including two fours in the pacer’s first over.
He then went after the spinners, striking Salman Ali Agha for two fours and a six before completing his fifty with a single off Abrar Ahmed.
With this impressive innings, Pretorius not only gave South Africa a solid start but also wrote his name into the history books by breaking Jacques Kallis’ long-standing record for the youngest South African to score an ODI half-century.
SA vs Pak: Lhuan-dré Pretorius
The Proteas Men official page on the social media platform Instagram, proteasmencsa, shared this achievement of his in a post.
The page added, “What a start to Lhuan-dré Pretorius’ ODI career with a superb half-century! Power, skill, and crisp timing. What a talent!”
Lhuan-dre Gilbert Pretorius is a South African professional cricketer who plays for the team on the International level.
He is a left-handed batsman and wicket keeper. Currently, he is on the South Africa squad for the ODI series against Pakistan.
