BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – Evin Lewis once again flaunted his talents in a punishing half-century as St Kitts and Nevis put on an impressive show to trounce St Lucia Zouks by 58 runs and pick up their first win of the Caribbean Premier League here Sunday.
Winless in their two previous games, Patriots piled up an imposing 203 for seven off their 20 overs at Warner Park, thanks to the left-handed Lewis who struck a scintillating 73 from a mere 36 balls.
In-form Devon Thomas followed up with a stroke-filled 48 while opener Lendl Simmons scored 30 at the top of the order.
In reply, Zouks raced to 90 without loss in the 10th over before buckling under the weight of a required run rate of over 10 an over, and declined to 145 for five off their 20 overs.
Australian Shane Watson hit a top score off 55 off 31 balls while West Indies opener Johnson Charles struck 40 from 30 balls, but once both perished within 13 balls of each other, the innings lost steam.
With the victory Patriots climbed to second in the table on two points while Zouks dropped to one from bottom, also on two points but with an inferior net run rate.
Sent in, Patriots were propelled by a 69-run stand off 38 balls between Trinidadians Lewis and Simmons.
All told, Lewis struck six fours and five sixes while Simmons counted two fours and three sixes in a 16-ball knock.
They were initially off to a measured start before Simmons exploded in the fourth over – the first from off-spinner Nitish Kumar – belting three sixes as the over leaked 22 runs.
It proved to be the cue Lewis needed and he too cut loose in the next over from captain and seamer Darren Sammy, reeling off four consecutive boundaries as 17 runs came from the over.
When Simmons perished to a catch a short third man in the first over from left-arm spinner Derone Davis in the seventh over of the innings, Lewis put on a further 46 with captain Faf du Plessis who made six before driving fellow South African Morne Morkel to Sammy at cover in the 11th over.
Lewis fell in the next over with just two runs added at 117 for three, leaving Patriots in need a of a reset and got it through Thomas.
The right-hander produced a near flawless exhibition of hitting, facing 27 balls and blasting a four and five sixes – nearly all coming via clean straight hits.
He put on 50 off 20 balls with Carlos Brathwaite (8) before holing out in the deep at the start of the final over off seamer Watson, who finished with three for 36.
In reply, Zouks threatened to pull off the highest run chase in CPL history when Watson and Charles romped through the early overs, bludgeoning boundaries at will in posting 90 for the first wicket off 55 deliveries.
Watson hit four fours and three sixes while Charles followed in the same vein, counting a four and three sixes.
The partnership was proving worrisome when Charles fell to a leading edge off leg-spinner Samuel Badree and was caught at mid-wicket in the 10th over.
Watson then holed out to long on in Badree’s next over as four wickets tumbled for 22 runs, causing the innings to quickly lose momentum.
