Batsmen respected NZ a lot more than expected - Mathews
Loose bowling on day one, and cautious batting on days two and three paved Sri Lanka's path to defeat, said Angelo Mathews after the 122-run loss in Dunedin
Was trying to avoid leg-side trap - Mathews
Angelo Mathews' dismissal was one of the more bizarre ones during Sri Lanka's innings, as he had his middle stump uprooted attempting to pad away a full Neil Wagner delivery. The ball passed through his legs en route to the stumps. He explained that he was trying to avoid New Zealand's leg-side trap.
"It was a trap set on the leg side, and I didn't want to play anything on the leg side to be honest," Mathews said. "In the first innings as well, I nicked it to the wicketkeeper on the leg side. They had a leg gully and a short leg as well. I wanted to just pad it away because I knew that even if it hits my pad it's not going to be out because it's pitching outside leg stump. Unfortunately it hit the inside part of my pad and rolled to the stumps."
Andrew Fidel Fernando is ESPNcricinfo's Sri Lanka correspondent. @andrewffernando