Mathews calls on Sri Lanka to move on from Sangakkara era

Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews has urged his young brigade to stop discussing about former greats like Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene and start focusing on taking responsibility following their 122-run defeat to New Zealand in the first Test in Dunedin on Monday.

The 28-year-old, however, admitted that his players displayed a gutsy performance as none of them wanted to give up despite being new in the longer-format of the game.

Mathews insisted that that they are a quality side and that it was just the mindset of the players that need to be changed, Sport24 reported.

Reflecting on their performance, the all-rounder believes that his batting unit should have scored more runs, and revealed that his side were too cautious in the first innings.

He added that his bowlers were unable to perform as per their ability and bowled a lot of loose deliveries.

With the defeat, Sri Lanka are currently trailing 0-1 in the two-match series against New Zealand and will aim to bounce back in the second Test at Seddon Park in Hamilton, which starts on 18 December.