West Indies captain Shai Hope lauded the work of Evin Lewis after the batter put on a superb display in a big win over Ireland.

Lewis was named Player of the Match after his 91 propelled West Indies to their second-highest T20I score of 256-6.

It was a target Ireland never looked likely to chase down, as they succumbed to a 62-run defeat.

The first two matches of the three-game series were abandoned due to weather, but Hope was delighted with the work of his team on Sunday, singling out opener Lewis for praise.

"It means a lot," said Hope, whose team were hammered in their recent white-ball series against England.

"We are really trying to build a strong team. Just trying to continue that, trying to be as consistent as possible and win as many games as possible. 

"That series [against England] was tough, so it's nice to take something back to the Caribbean.

"If you get in, it is difficult to stop you, so whenever you get a start, try and capitalise and go as big as you can. He [Lewis] is a quality striker and when he is going, he is hard to stop.

"Hopefully he can continue that run-scoring and hopefully he can get a good start against Australia [in July]."

Lewis, who plundered eight of the Windies' 23 sixes, was ably supported by Hope (51) and debutant Keacy Carty, who struck an unbeaten 49.

Our 2nd highest T20I total!

All set to defend a big total for a series win!#IREvWI pic.twitter.com/S8ktskDWRd

— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) June 15, 2025

Matthew Humphreys (2-16) ended Lewis' stand, just two balls after dismissing Rovman Powell for two.

"A couple of positives in there, tough day overall," said Ireland captain Paul Stirling.

"Special mention to Humphreys – one of the best spells in context in T20 cricket for us. He bowled both ends, had the wind against him, had left-handers in – it was incredible. It was tough bowling from both ends for the other lads. "

Ross Adair (48) and Harry Tector (38) gave Ireland hope, but the hosts failed to recover following the dismissal of the duo in the space of an over.

Stirling added: "The message was to give it everything we had. We gave it our best shot but we fell short in all three facets."