5 things New Zealand achieved under Mike Hesson

Mike Hesson Resigns As New Zealand Cricket Head Coach — Mike Hesson attending his last press-

At the Ultimate Showdown

#3. New Zealand reaching the finals of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

Coming from Group B that featured Australia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, England, Afghanistan and Scotland, competition was fierce for New Zealand to finish in the top-4 to earn a quarterfinal place. However, they blew away all opposition to finish first in the group by winning against all the other teams including eventual champions Australia.

Then came the quarterfinals where the McCullum-led Kiwis literally steamrolled over the Windies, scoring 393 and winning the game by over 140 runs in the end. The Semifinals were against South Africa, a closely fought match that saw NZ batsman Grant Elliot strike the ball for a six in the very last ball to take them into the finals, thereby becoming the only team to remain undefeated in the tournament.

Australia, having defeated India in the semis awaited New Zealand in the finals. They had already faced each other once in the tournament when New Zealand won. But this time, they had to bow down in defeat in front of a dominant Aussie display with both bat and ball.

This was New Zealand's first Cup Final appearance in the history of World Cups, despite having entered the semi-finals a total of six times.