The highest individual score in T20 cricket has long been one of the game’s most talked-about records. For 13 years that mark belonged to Chris Gayle, whose unbeaten 175 for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2013 IPL looked untouchable. That changed on 3 October 2026, when South Africa’s Lhuan-dre Pretorius, just 20 years old, hammered an unbeaten 188 for the Titans against the Knights in the CSA T20 Challenge to claim the highest score in T20 history. His 79-ball blitz, with 15 fours and 13 sixes, finally pushed Gayle into second place. This page ranks the top 12 highest individual scores in all T20 cricket, with the story behind each one.
Top 12 Players With Highest Score in T20
These are the 12 highest individual scores in men’s T20 cricket, spanning internationals, franchise leagues and domestic competitions, ranked from Pretorius’s 188 down to McCullum’s 158.
| Player | Score | Balls | Team | Opposition | Date | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Lhuan-dre Pretorius | 188* | 79 | Titans | Knights | 3 Oct 2026 | 15 | 13 |
| 2. Chris Gayle | 175* | 66 | RCB | Pune Warriors | 23 Apr 2013 | 13 | 17 |
| 3. Aaron Finch | 172 | 76 | Australia | Zimbabwe | 3 Jul 2018 | 16 | 10 |
| 4. Hamza Khan | 164* | 65 | Rwanda | Ivory Coast | 24 May 2026 | 9 | 15 |
| 5. Karanbir Singh | 164 | 57 | Austria | Hungary | 28 Jun 2026 | 18 | 12 |
| 6. Hamilton Masakadza | 162* | 71 | Mountaineers | Mash Eagles | 11 Feb 2016 | 14 | 11 |
| 7. Hazratullah Zazai | 162* | 62 | Afghanistan | Ireland | 23 Feb 2019 | 11 | 16 |
| 8. Sahibzada Farhan | 162* | 72 | Peshawar | Quetta | 21 Mar 2025 | 14 | 11 |
| 9. Dewald Brevis | 162 | 57 | Titans | Knights | 31 Oct 2022 | 13 | 13 |
| 10. Adam Lyth | 161 | 73 | Yorkshire | Northants | 17 Aug 2017 | 20 | 7 |
| 11. Mohammad Ihsan | 160 | 63 | Spain | Croatia | 7 Dec 2025 | 5 | 17 |
| 12. Brendon McCullum | 158* | 73 | KKR | RCB | 18 Apr 2008 | 10 | 13 |
Note: Scores marked * are not out. Figures cover all recognised men’s T20 cricket and are current to October 2026.
1. Lhuan-dre Pretorius – 188* (Titans vs Knights)
The 20-year-old left-hander produced the greatest innings in T20 history at Bloemfontein. Opening for the Titans against the Knights in the CSA T20 Challenge, Pretorius smashed an unbeaten 188 off just 79 balls with 15 fours and 13 sixes, powering the Titans to 267 for 3. He reached fifty in 24 balls and never slowed, overtaking Chris Gayle’s 13-year-old mark of 175 along the way. The Titans then bowled the Knights out for 143 to win by 124 runs. At 20, he now owns the highest individual score in all T20 cricket.
2. Chris Gayle – 175* (RCB vs Pune Warriors)
Gayle’s 175 not out stood as the benchmark for more than a decade and is still the most destructive top-level T20 innings. Opening for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in the 2013 IPL, he reached his hundred in just 30 balls, still the fastest in T20, and cleared the ropes a staggering 17 times off 66 deliveries. His assault carried RCB to 263 for 5, which was the highest total in IPL history at the time and remains one of the biggest team scores in all of T20 cricket.
3. Aaron Finch – 172 (Australia vs Zimbabwe)
Finch holds the record for the highest score in men’s T20 internationals, an awesome 172 off 76 balls against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2018. The Australia captain struck 16 fours and 10 sixes, beating his own earlier T20I best of 156. He added a then-record 223 for the first wicket with D’Arcy Short, the first double-century opening stand in T20Is, and lifted Australia to 229 for 2. Zimbabwe were bowled out for 129, handing Australia a crushing 100-run win.
4. Hamza Khan – 164* (Rwanda vs Ivory Coast)
Rwanda’s Hamza Khan lit up associate cricket with an extraordinary unbeaten 164 against Ivory Coast in 2026. Off only 65 balls, he relied on sheer power, clearing the boundary 15 times to go with nine fours. It is one of the highest individual scores ever made in a men’s T20 international and underlined the rising standard of batting in emerging cricket nations. The knock sits fourth on the all-time list of highest T20 scores, a remarkable feat for a batter from a developing cricket region.
5. Karanbir Singh – 164 (Austria vs Hungary)
Austria’s Karanbir Singh matched Hamza Khan’s 164 just weeks later against Hungary, and went one better on tempo. He needed only 57 balls, striking 18 fours and 12 sixes at a strike rate above 287, making it one of the fastest 160-plus innings in any form of T20 cricket. The knock showed how explosive European associate cricket has become and placed Karanbir fifth on the all-time list of highest individual T20 scores, level on runs with Hamza Khan but off eight fewer deliveries.
6. Hamilton Masakadza – 162* (Mountaineers vs Mashonaland Eagles)
Zimbabwe great Hamilton Masakadza rolled back the years with 162 not out for Mountaineers against Mashonaland Eagles in domestic T20 cricket in 2016. The experienced opener anchored the innings from the first over and finished unbeaten off 71 balls with 14 fours and 11 sixes, a controlled, classy display rather than pure slogging. At the time it was among the very highest individual scores in the format anywhere, and it remains one of the biggest innings ever played in Zimbabwean domestic cricket.
7. Hazratullah Zazai – 162* (Afghanistan vs Ireland)
Hazratullah Zazai battered Ireland for 162 not out in Dehradun in 2019, an innings built on a huge 16 sixes off just 62 balls. The left-hander opened with Usman Ghani and the pair added 236 for the first wicket, still a T20I record for any wicket. Zazai’s hitting powered Afghanistan to 278 for 3, the highest total in men’s T20 international history at the time. It remains one of the biggest team scores the format has seen and one of the cleanest striking displays on this list.
8. Sahibzada Farhan – 162* (Peshawar vs Quetta)
Sahibzada Farhan made the highest individual score in Pakistan’s domestic T20 history with 162 not out for Peshawar against Quetta in the 2024-25 National T20 Cup. Batting through the innings, he struck 14 fours and 11 sixes off 72 balls and carried Peshawar to 239 for 2. His knock passed Kamran Akmal’s long-standing Pakistani record of 150 and booked Peshawar a place in the quarter-finals. Quetta were then bowled out for 113, giving Peshawar a thumping 126-run win.
9. Dewald Brevis – 162 (Titans vs Knights)
Teenage talent Dewald Brevis announced himself with 162 for the Titans against the Knights in the 2022 CSA T20 Challenge, off just 57 balls with 13 fours and 13 sixes. His blitz took the Titans to 271, and the two sides combined for a world-record 501 runs in the match, the most ever scored in a single T20 game at the time. Brevis’s 162 was the CSA T20 Challenge record until his team-mate Lhuan-dre Pretorius surpassed it with 188 in 2026.
10. Adam Lyth – 161 (Yorkshire vs Northamptonshire)
Adam Lyth holds the record for the highest individual score in English domestic T20 cricket, a brilliant 161 for Yorkshire against Northamptonshire in the 2017 T20 Blast. The opener laced his innings with 20 fours, the most boundaries of any knock on this list, off 73 balls. He drove Yorkshire to 260 for 4, and Northamptonshire were then bundled out for 136, sealing a 124-run win. Lyth’s 161 is still the benchmark individual score in English T20 cricket.
11. Mohammad Ihsan – 160 (Spain vs Croatia)
Spain’s Mohammad Ihsan played one of the most six-laden innings on this list, a 160 against Croatia in European T20 international cricket in 2025. Remarkably, 17 of his boundaries were sixes, with only five fours, as he cleared the ropes almost at will off just 63 balls. It is one of the highest scores in men’s T20I history and the standout individual innings of Spain’s associate programme, proof of how far the power game has spread beyond the sport’s traditional strongholds.
12. Brendon McCullum – 158* (KKR vs RCB)
Brendon McCullum announced the IPL to the world with 158 not out in the tournament’s very first match, for Kolkata Knight Riders against Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bengaluru in 2008. Opening the batting, the New Zealander struck 10 fours and 13 sixes off 73 balls and powered KKR to 222 for 3, a colossal total for that era. RCB were bowled out for 82 in reply, a 140-run defeat. The innings set the template for T20 opening batting and, 18 years on, still sits among the 12 highest scores in the format.
Verdict – Lhuan-dre Pretorius’s 188 Not Out Is The Highest Individual Score in T20
Lhuan-dre Pretorius now owns the highest individual score in T20 cricket. His unbeaten 188 for the Titans broke a record that had stood since Chris Gayle’s 175 in 2013, and he did it at just 20 years of age. The 13-run gap to second place shows how far he raised the bar in a single innings. Gayle, Aaron Finch and the rest still fill a glittering top 12, but for now the highest score in T20 belongs to a young South African who may be far from finished with the record books.
