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India can pip South Africa to second position in the ICC Test rankings if they manage to win the ongoing series against the West Indies 3-0 and if Graeme Smith's side loses the upcoming two-Test rubber against Australia.
South Africa trail top-ranked England by seven rating points but leads third-ranked India by just one rating point.
Australia is fourth on 104 ratings points.
The maximum points India can garner from the series against the West Indies is 119 rating points and that can only be achieved if they wins all the three Test matches. A 2-0 series win will take India to 118 ratings points while a 1-0 or 2-1 series win will keep them on 117 ratings points.
A 0-1 series loss against Australia will leave South Africa on 112 ratings points while in case of a 0-2 series defeat, the Proteas will join Australia on 110 ratings points but will be ranked above Michael Clarke's side when the ratings are calculated beyond the decimal point.
Graeme Smith's side, in contrast, can reduce the gap with top-ranked England to just three ratings points if it wins both the Tests. South Africa's victory by a 1-0 margin will ensure that they stay ahead of India irrespective of how India's series against the West Indies pans out.
South Africa finds themselves in a must-win situation against Australia, if they want to retain the number-two position in the Test championship table.In the Test Player Rankings, the positions of iconic Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who will be looking to score his 100th international century and seasoned campaigner Rahul Dravid, remained unchanged at number 5 and 10 respectively.
South Africa's Jacques Kallis and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara are sitting pretty on top of the batting table while England's captain Alastair Cook is in third place.
Kallis also leads the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders.
In the bowling chart, India's pace spearhead Zaheer Khan's position at number 6 remained unchanged. South Africa's Dale Steyn leads the list followed by England's James Anderson.