South Africa’s young batting sensation Lhuan-dre Pretorius made a dream start to his Test career, scoring the fastest century on debut for his country. On Day 1 of the first Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, Pretorius reached three figures in just 112 balls, breaking Stiaan van Zyl’s previous record of 129 deliveries.
Pretorius came in at number five when South Africa were struggling at 23 for 3. He showed immediate confidence, hitting a six off only his fourth ball, bowled by spinner Wellington Masakadza. The left-hander edged one on 30, but with no DRS in place, it went unnoticed. Composed and unfazed, he reached his fifty in just 53 balls and continued to dominate.
Alongside Dewald Brevis, he built a crucial 95-run partnership. Brevis made 51 off 41 balls before falling to Blessing Muzarabani. Pretorius pushed on and brought up his century in just 112 balls — the fastest by a Proteas batter on debut — helping South Africa recover from their early collapse to post a big total.
Match Update
By stumps on Day 1, South Africa had reached 418 for 9, with Pretorius eventually dismissed for a magnificent 153. His knock provided the visitors with a strong start to the series. Corbin Bosch also notched up a century and remained unbeaten on 100.
Who is Lhuan-dre Pretorius?
Pretorius is a left-handed wicketkeeper-batter born on 27 March 2006. He was South Africa’s top scorer in the 2024 ICC Under-19 World Cup. He also scored a century on his first-class debut and finished as the highest run-scorer in the SA20 2025 for Paarl Royals. Recently, he joined Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2025 as a replacement player.
For latest sports updates: Follow RevSportz.