Australian captain Michael Clarke has the chance to close the gap on Hashim Amla when the second Test again India begins on Saturday.
South Africa's Amla (903 points) tops the latest ICC Test batting rankings with Clarke (892 points) just behind in second.
But with Amla not in action until October, Clarke can recapture the top ranking during the current series in India.
South African AB de Villiers has moved up to equal third after a stellar series against Pakistan.
De Villiers – who now juggles his batting commitments with being South Africa's wicketkeeper – was named man of the series against Pakistan after scoring 322 runs in three matches.
He made them at an average of 88 and hit two hundreds as the top-ranked Proteas cruised to a 3-0 series win.
De Villiers (879 points) is now level with West Indian Shivnarine Chanderpaul in the rankings.
The big mover in the batting rankings was India skipper MS Dhoni, who moved up 15 places to 21st.
Dhoni triggered India's eight-wicket win in the first Test against Australia in Chennai with a majestic innings of 224, 206 of which came on the third day's play.
Virat Kohli, who also scored a hundred in that match, moved up 10 spots to 25th.
More players involved in that match – India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and Australia speedster James Pattinson – were the major climbers in the bowling rankings.
Ashwin, who finished with match figures of 12-198, moved from 20th to 11th.
Pattinson put in a lone hand for his country on a pitch not conducive to fast bowling and his six wickets for the match saw him move up 13 places to 21st.
South African seamers Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander – who took 20 and 15 wickets respectively in the Pakistan series – remain in first and second in the bowling rankings, while Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan is still ranked as the best all-rounder in Test cricket.
In Test team rankings, the Proteas (128 points) lead England (118) and Australia (117). Fourth-placed India (105) have leapfrogged Pakistan (104) courtesy of this week's win.
First Posted 28 February, 2013 11:27AM AEST
