New Delhi: Dewald Brevis put Australian bowlers to the sword by putting on a batting masterclass in the second T20I against Australia in Darwin’s Marrara Cricket Ground. Brevis took Australian bowlers to the cleaners with a scintillating 41-ball century that made him the youngest centurion in South Africa’s T20I history and the second-fastest for the Proteas in men’s T20Is behind David Miller, who reached the milestone from just 35 balls against Bangladesh in Potchefstroom in 2017.
Brevis hit Australian bowlers to all corners of the park en route to his maiden international hundred. The right-hander, who plays for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League, smashed eight sixes and 12 fours in his unbeaten 125-run knock of 56 balls.
Brevis, also nicknamed “Baby AB” due to his striking resemblance to AB de Villiers, became the eighth South African batter to score a T20I hundred in men’s cricket, joining an elite list that also includes legends like Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis and Miller himself.
Brevis shatters multiple records
In the process, Brevis registered the highest score for the Proteas in T20Is, surpassing Du Plessis’ decade-old record of 119 against the West Indies in 2015.
Brevis also became the proud owner of another record of registering the highest individual score in T20Is against Australia, surpassing Ruturaj Gaikwad’s unbeaten 123 in Guwahati in 2023.
Brevis’ remarkable century powered South Africa to 219 for 6 in 20 overs after Australia invited the visitors to bat in the second match of the three-T20I series.
After South Africa lost three wickets without doing much damage, Brevis and Tristan Stubbs stitched a brilliant 126-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Stubbs played the perfect supporting role, scoring 31 off 22 balls.
Ben Dwarshuis was the pick of the bowlers for the home side with superb figures of 4-0-24-2 while Glenn Maxwell also bagged two wickets.
Josh Hazlewood and Adam Zampa chipped in with a wicket each, but both were quite expensive.
Australia won the first match by 17 runs at the same venue on Sunday.