South African opener Matthew Breetzke achieved a remarkable feat by registering the highest score by a batter on One-Day International (ODI) debut during the ongoing Tri-Nation series match against New Zealand in Lahore on Monday.
Breetzke scored 150 runs off 148 balls, hitting 11 fours and five sixes. This performance broke the previous record held by Desmond Haynes, who scored 148 for the West Indies on his debut against Australia in 1978.
Before Breetzke, the record for the highest score on an ODI debut for a South African was held by Colin Ingram, who scored 124 against Zimbabwe in 2010.
Breetzke’s impressive knock helped the Proteas post a total of 304 for six in their 50 overs. He received support from Jamie Smith, who contributed 41 runs, and Wiaan Mulder, who scored 64 runs.
The explosive top-order batter was signed by the Lucknow Super Giants for his base price of ₹75 lakh during the Indian Premier League (IPL) auction last year. He played for Durban’s Super Giants in the recently concluded SA20 league, where he managed to score 117 runs in seven innings with a strike rate of 103.53. However, he excelled in the 2024 tournament, finishing as the third-highest scorer with a total of 416 runs at a strike rate of 135.5.
Breetzke has played 10 T20 Internationals so far and made his Test debut against Bangladesh in October of last year. To date, the right-handed batter has played 10 T20 International matches and made his Test debut against Bangladesh in October of last year.
Highest individual scores on ODI debut
- Matthew Breetzke (South Africa) – 150 vs New Zealand (Lahore, 2024)
- Desmond Haynes (West Indies) – 148 vs Australia (St. John’s, 1978)
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan) – 127 vs Ireland (Abu Dhabi, 2021)
- Mark Chapman (New Zealand) – 124* vs UAE (Dubai, 2015)
- Colin Ingram (South Africa) – 124 vs Zimbabwe (Bloemfontein, 2010)
