South Africa’s young opener Lhuan-dre Pretorius made a stunning start to his ODI career, scoring a brilliant half-century on debut against Pakistan in Faisalabad on Tuesday, 24NewsHD TV reported.
The 19-year-old left-hander reached his maiden ODI fifty off just 47 balls, marking his arrival on the big stage in spectacular fashion.
Pretorius showed remarkable confidence and aggressive intent from the outset, hitting two exquisite boundaries off fast bowler Naseem Shah’s first over to set the tone for the innings.
He continued his fluent stroke play against spin, striking Agha Salman for two fours and a six, before taking a single off Abrar Ahmed to bring up his half-century.
With this performance, Pretorius became South Africa’s youngest player to score a fifty in ODIs, achieving the feat at the age of 19 years and 222 days.
He surpassed the legendary Jacques Kallis, who had scored a fifty at 20 years and 93 days against England in Durban back in 1996.
South Africa’s youngest players to score an ODI fifty:
19 years, 222 days – Lhuan-dre Pretorius vs Pakistan, Faisalabad, 2025
20 years, 93 days – Jacques Kallis vs England, Durban, 1996
20 years, 326 days – Quinton de Kock vs Pakistan, Abu Dhabi, 2013
This isn’t the first time Pretorius has impressed on the international stage.
Earlier this year, on his Test debut against Zimbabwe, he announced himself with a superb knock of 153 runs.
Pretorius has also featured in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he represented the Rajasthan Royals as a replacement for Nitish Rana.
His confident batting drew widespread attention, and reports suggest the franchise is considering retaining him for IPL 2026.
Cricket analysts believe Pretorius could be the most promising opening batsman to emerge for South Africa in recent years, with the potential to become a key pillar of the team’s batting lineup in the future.
