Top 5 Performances from World Cricket in January 2015

In the build up to the 2015 Cricket World Cup, the month of January was a hectic one on the international calendar as the world's elite sides ramped up their preparations for the global tournament. 

Down Under, Australia completed their comprehensive Test series victory against India before dominating the triangular one-day international competition with the Indians and England. 

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's World Cup preparations kept accelerating with fine victories over Sri Lanka and Pakistan, while in South Africa, the Proteas and West Indies split their one-day and Twenty20 series. 

Across the following slides, we examine the five outstanding individual performances across all that action from the month of January. 

Chris Gayle's Blistering 90 vs. South Africa

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After watching the West Indies grab the ascendancy with victory in the opening match of their Twenty20 international series, South Africa would have felt extremely confident of levelling the contest at 1-1 after posting 231-7 in the first innings of the second match—the fifth highest T20I total in history. 

But that confidence quickly evaporated. 

Opening the West Indies' innings to kickstart the visitors' response was Chris Gayle, one of the world's premier batsmen in the game's shortest format. 

Crunching nine fours and seven sixes at the notoriously high-scoring Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg, the towering left-hander raced to 90 from just 41 deliveries to propel the West Indies to victory with four balls to spare—setting a new record for the highest successful chase in T20I history. 

Steven Smith's 4th Straight Ton vs. India

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What an Australian summer it has been for Steven Smith. 

Handed the Test captaincy in the absence of the injured Michael Clarke from the second Test in Brisbane onward, the 25-year-old put together one of the most remarkable stretches of batting form ever seen on the international stage. 

Indeed, with centuries in Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne, Smith arrived at the Sydney Cricket Ground in early January with the opportunity to break all sorts of records. 

And he did. 

With 117 in the first innings and 71 in the second, Smith set a new benchmark for runs scored in a four-match series with 769 runs at an average of 128.16. The New South Welshman also set a new record for runs in a series against India, became only the third player in history to score hundreds in four straight Tests in the same series and only the fifth Australian ever to score centuries in four straight Tests crossing any span. 

Luke Ronchi's Rapid 170 vs. Sri Lanka

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When Luke Ronchi arrived at the crease during New Zealand's fifth one-day international against Sri Lanka in Dunedin, the hosts were reeling at 93-5 after just 20 overs. With the seven-match series delicately poised at 2-1, it was a critical juncture.

On a wicket with a tinge of green that was providing assistance to Sri Lanka's seamers, a low total looked likely for New Zealand.

Thirty overs later, however, the game was almost unrecognisable to where it had been.

In a stunning display of ferocious hitting, Ronchi thrashed his way to 170 from just 99 balls, crunching 14 fours and nine sixes to haul New Zealand away from danger and into a position of extreme dominance. 

Alongside Grant Elliot (104), the keeper-batsman propelled the Kiwis to a total of 360-5, and in doing so, broke a number of records: His 170 was the highest score ever recorded by a batsman at No. 7 or lower, while his 267-run stand with Elliot was the highest in history for a sixth-wicket partnership in ODIs and the largest partnership ever recorded from the third wicket or below against one of the world's top eight nations. 

Kane Williamson's 242 vs. Sri Lanka

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Prior to Luke Ronchi's explosion against Sri Lanka in the one-day international series, fellow New Zealander Kane Williamson put together the largest international score in January with a superb and unbeaten 242 in the second Test against the Sri Lankans in Wellington. 

Facing a 135-run first-innings deficit to the visitors after Kumar Sangakkara's sublime 203, Williamson dealt with Sri Lanka's attack with consummate ease as he cruised, first to his ninth Test hundred, and then onto his maiden Test double century. 

The innings, along with a brilliant 142 from BJ Watling, propelled Brendon McCullum's side to a total of 524-5 declared that eventually allowed New Zealand to claim an emphatic come-from-behind victory over their guests. 

It left McCullum to reserve some extremely high praise for Williamson after the match.

"It's hard to put this on his shoulders while the guy is so young, but I firmly believe Kane could go down as New Zealand's greatest ever batter," the captain said, per ESPN Cricinfo.

AB de Villiers' 44-Ball Blitz vs. West Indies

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Forty-four balls, nine fours, 16 sixes and 149 runs.

Not just the most remarkable international performance in January, but one of the most remarkable performances in the history of the game.

AB de Villiers was simply breathtaking. Awe-inspiring.

In his innings against the West Indies in Johannesburg, the South African broke the record for the fastest one-day international fifty (16 balls), broke the record for the fastest ODI hundred (31 balls), equalled Rohit Sharma's benchmark of 16 sixes in an innings, recorded the highest ever strike rate for an innings of 50 runs or more (338.63) and became the first ever player to finish with a strike rate above 300 in a 100-plus score. 

It was as astonishing as it gets.