Evin Lewis, Rajasthan Royals opener says his country West Indies will be under pressure to defend the upcoming 2021 T20 World Cup title after winning it last time around in 2016. Rajasthan Royals opener Evin Lewis is everything a destructive T20 opening batsman should be. The hard-hitting West Indies cricketer looks up to Chris Gayle and is touted as the one to carry his legacy forward.
Evin Lewis was in smashing form in the recently concluded Caribbean Premier League ahead of IPL 2021 Phase 2. He was the second-highest run-getter in the tournament. His exceptional performances helped St Kitts & Nevis Patriots win the title. The opener could play a crucial role for Rajasthan Royals in the UAE leg in absence of England’s Jos Buttler.
Evin Lewis Feels His Job Is To Give Rajasthan Royals Good Starts
Adil Rashid, Aiden Markram, and Evin Lewis have finally made their debut in IPL coming as replacement players in the UAE leg of IPL 2021 in the match between Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings.
“Coming in place of Buttler and Stokes doesn’t put pressure on me. My job is to go out there and give good starts. Kumar Sangakkara (RR mentor) has welcomed me. It feels great to be back in the IPL. I had to work very hard for it,” said Evin Lewis on making up for the absence of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes
“You need power but you need to use your mind too. You have to know the right time to take on a bowler and set up the game. You have to keep thinking all the time. Be positive even while defending,” said Evin Lewis on being an explosive batsman.
“(Laughs) Many guys ask me that same question. As a batter, I try and keep a still base and watch the ball onto the bat. Many of these guys have these ramps and scoops but I am not a fan of that,” said Evin Lewis on not playing ramps or scoops.
“There will be pressure on us because we have two T20 titles. We need to first get out of the group stage. It’s a tough group. That’s the first step we have to take,” said Evin Lewis on his country-the defending champions West Indies.
An aggressive left-handed batsman, Evin Lewis, joined the RR unit as a replacement for Jos Buttler. Evin Lewis, who has played 45 T20Is for West Indies, has scored 1318 runs at the strike rate of 158.03 and has 2 hundred and 9 fifties. He has scored 466 runs in 17 IPL matches averaging 27.41. He had played for Mumbai Indians earlier.
Evin Lewis Share A Good Relationship With Chris Gayle
In Rajasthan Royals’ first IPL 2021 match at UAE, Punjab left out big-hitting Chris Gayle and included Nicholas Pooran, Aiden Markram, Adil Rashid, Fabian Allen as the four foreign players in their Playing XI.
Three players — Ishan Porel, Aiden Markram, and Adil Rashid — were handed debut caps by the Punjab outfit. Rajasthan Royals handed a debut to West Indies dasher Evin Lewis, giving him the responsibility to start the innings with young Yashasvi Jaiswal.
“Everyone has that expectation and keep saying if I am going to be the next Chris Gayle. We have to wait and see. Only time will tell. To be honest those are big shoes to fill. Chris is a supportive guy. When we bat together and if I am having a good game, he will just rotate strike. Many bowlers fear him but he will not get into the action if his partner is doing well. We share a good relationship and I keep learning from him,” said Evin Lewis on comparision with Chris Gayle.
“We are in the same group (in the WC). So, I don’t think we need to discuss anything. We are rivals (laughs). After I play a couple of games, I can analyse the players who are going to be in the World Cup,” said Evin Lewis on Liam Livingstone.
“I’ve never seen so much grass on Dubai pitches. We can’t predict if it will spin a lot or probably keep low. But I guess time will tell. I don’t think they will want something looking that bad for a big competition like the World Cup,” said Evin Lewis on spin playing a part in UAE pitches.
Evin Lewis scored 36 runs in the thriller match between Punjab Kings and Rajasthan Royals. Punjab Kings’ Arshdeep Singh took a five-wicket haul for Punjab Kings as Rajasthan Royals was bundled out for 185. For the Sanju Samson-led side, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Mahipal Lamror scored 49 and 43 respectively. For Punjab, Mohammed Shami also scalped three wickets.
Punjab was poised for an easy win as they needed just four runs from the last over but the 20-year-old pacer, Kartik Tyagi changed the game with his accurate bowling. Kartik Tyagi emerged as the unlikely hero as he defended 4 runs in the final over to help Rajasthan Royals snatch victory from the jaws of defeat against Punjab Kings.
Rajasthan Royals 185 (Jaiswal 49, Lomror 43, Arshdeep 5-32, Shami 3-21) beat Punjab Kings 183 for 4 (Agarwal 67, Rahul 49, Tyagi 2-29, Tewatia 1-23) by two runs