South Africa's Pretorius tore into the Namibian bowling attack in a tri-series contest, smashing a rapid 101 off just 53 balls. That knock proved decisive as South Africa recorded their maiden T20 International win over Namibia.
A breakthrough win over Namibia
The victory carried extra weight because Namibia had won both of their previous meetings against South Africa in stunning upsets. Pretorius's explosive innings finally ended that streak and carried his side to a memorable win.
Youngest among full members, but only seventh overall
The century made Pretorius the youngest centurion among ICC full member nations, the countries that play all formats of international cricket. But looking at the wider world of T20 cricket, six batters had already reached three figures at an even younger age before him. All six were teenagers, having scored their centuries before turning 20, though none of their teams are classified as full members.
Sixth: Serbia's Brethin Pekic
Serbia's Brethin Pekic scored his T20I century at the age of 19 years and 210 days. In 2025, he smashed 102 runs off just 42 balls against Slovenia to steer his team to a memorable win, placing him sixth on the list of youngest centurions.
Fifth: Nepal's Kushal Malla, and the biggest score under 20
Nepal's Kushal Malla sits fifth on the list, but holds a record of his own. At the 2023 Asian Games, he blitzed an unbeaten 137 against Mongolia, a knock that stunned the cricketing world. What made it even more remarkable was that no bowler could dismiss him throughout the innings. He was 19 years and 206 days old at the time, and his knock remains the highest individual score by any batter under the age of 20.
Fourth: Botswana's Monrox Kaselman
Botswana's Monrox Kaselman reached his century at 19 years and 203 days of age, scoring 102 runs against Ivory Coast to take fourth spot on the list.
Third: Canada's Yuvraj Samra
Canada's opening batter Yuvraj Samra takes third place after scoring 110 runs against New Zealand in the T20 World Cup. He was just 19 years and 141 days old at the time.
Second: Nigeria's Saleem Salau
Nigeria's Saleem Salau is the second-youngest centurion in T20 International cricket. He achieved the feat at the age of 19 years and 30 days, scoring 112 runs against Ivory Coast.
Top of the list: France's Gustav Mekon
Topping the entire list is France's Gustav Mekon. In 2022, he made history by scoring a century against Switzerland at the age of just 18 years and 280 days. His innings of 109 runs still stands unmatched, he remains the only batter in the world to have scored a T20 International century before turning 19.
