SA's Dewald Brevis slams maiden T20 century, breaks these records
One of the rising T20 prospects, Dewald Brevis clubbed a record-breaking 57-ball 162 against Knights in the CSA T20 Challenge on Monday. The Titans opener slapped 13 fours and as many sixes, piloting his side to 271/3. Most notably, Brevis' 162 is now the highest score by a SA batter in T20 cricket and the third-highest overall. We look at the key stats.
A look at his T20 career
Playing for South Africa Under 19s, Brevis debuted against Easterns in the CSA Provincial T20 Cup 2021-22. He has smacked 809 runs across 30 innings, averaging a healthy 28.89. What's worth noting is that Brevis boasts a strike rate of 152.93 (100s: 1, 50s: 1). He has already tonked 57 maximums and 58 fours. Brevis, who bowls leg-break, has clipped 12 wickets at 22.83.
An innings like no other!
Brevis took his rivals to the cleaners as he dispatched a 35-ball century. He was striking at over 280 before Gerald Coetzee pulled curtains to his stay. Nonetheless, the damage was done, with the Titans eventually sealing a 41-run triumph. For Knights, the likes of Gihahn Cloete (32-ball 51), Coetzee (11-ball 37), and tail-ender Migael Pretorius (29) deserve praise for truncating the 272-run chase.
Brevis' ton lights up Potchefstroom!
As per ESPNcricinfo, Brevis' 35-ball century is the joint-fifth-fastest in T20 cricket. He shares this record with Rohit Sharma, LP van der Westhuizen, Martin Guptill, Khushdil Shah, and fellow countryman David Miller. It is now the joint-second-fastest T20 hundred by a South African batter, behind Wihan Lubbe's 33-ball ton against Limpopo in 2018.
Brevis had a blast in the concluded outing
Brevis' strike rate during his awe-inspiring inning (284.21) is the fifth-highest during a century in men's T20, while it is the highest for any T20 hundred in SA. The previous best was 283.33 by Lubbe, who clubbed a 36-ball 102 for North West against Limpopo.
Brevis-Pillay fetch a record-breaking partnership
Openers Brevis and Jiveshan Pillay stitched a whopping 179-run stand. It's the highest partnership for any wicket in SA domestic T20s. It's also the second-highest T20 partnership in SA, ranking behind the 197-run opening stand inked by Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam in 2021.
Here are some of the interesting records
As per ESPNcricinfo, the Titans' 271 is the highest T20 score in South Africa. They bettered North West's 262 against Limpopo in 2018. It's the fourth-highest T20 total, ranking behind Afghanistan's 278/3 (vs Ireland), Czech Republic's 278/4 (vs Turkey), and Melbourne Stars' 273/2 (vs Hobart Hurricanes). Notably, Titans beat Trinbago Knight Riders' 267/2 against Jamaica Tallawahs in 2019.
500-plus runs scored in Potchefstroom
It was a run-fest on offer in Potchefstroom, as the Knights compiled 230/9. A whopping 36 sixes were hit, the third-most in a T20 duel. Astonishingly, 501 runs were compiled in the concluded fixture. As per ESPNcricinfo, it is the most runs ever scored in a T20, surpassing the previous best of 497 by Central Districts and Otago in Super Smash 2016/17.
Six-hitting machine Brevis shines
Brevis' 13 sixes against the Knights is the most by any batter in a T20 innings in South Africa. It's also the joint-second-most by a South African, ranking behind Cameron Delport's 14 sixes against Surrey in the 2019 T20 Blast. SA opener Richard Levi also hit 13 sixes during his hundred (51-ball 117*) against New Zealand in 2012.
Fastest 150 in T20 cricket
Brevis breached the 150-run mark in his 52nd delivery, the fastest by any cricketer in T20s. He beat the previous best of 53 deliveries by Chris Gayle during his 175* blitz in IPL 2013. Add to that, only Gayle and Aaron Finch (172 vs Zimbabwe, 2018) have scored more runs in a T20 inning than Brevis.
Feats galore for Brevis
Brevis' 162 is the highest score by a SA batter, improving Quinton De Kock's (140* vs Kolkata Knight Riders in 2022) and Pieter Malan's (140* vs Easterns in 2014). Brevis (19y 185d) has become the sixth-youngest cricketer and youngest South African to clock a ton in men's T20s. He pipped De Kock (20y 62d), who notched a hundred against Cope Cobras in 2013.
Brevis plays for Mumbai Indians in IPL
Brevis was roped in by five-time winners Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2022 mega auction. He fetched a price of Rs. 3 crore. A powerful striker, the Johannesburg-born slapped a 19-ball 29 on his debut against KKR. Overall, he has compiled 161 runs across seven innings, striking at a mammoth rate of 142.47. His scores read 29, 8, 49, 31, 4, 3, and 37.
ICC U-19 WC: Brevis announces his arrival
Brevis finished as the leading run-scorer of the 2022 ICC Under-19 World Cup. He smashed 506 runs from six matches at an incredible average of 84.33. Brevis was the only player in this year's tournament to have scored over 500 runs. Pakistan's Haseebullah Khan followed him with 380 runs in his kitty. He also took seven wickets in the tournament at 28.57.
