SA players rise in rankings; Tendulkar No 18

South Africa batsman Hashim Amla moved within four ratings points of becoming the number-one ranked batsman in the Reliance ICC Test Player Rankings for Test batsmen, which were released on Tuesday, at the end of the series between Australia and South Africa.

Amla, who was declared man of the match in the Perth Test, moved up two places to No 3 with 875 ratings points following his match-winning knock of 196 in the second innings of the series-decider.

West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul is the top-ranked batsman with 879 ratings points.

Australia captain Michael Clarke, who scored five and 44, slipped to No 2 after regaining the number-one spot last week at the conclusion of the Adelaide Test.

Although four ratings points separate the top three batsmen, Clarke will have the first shot at regaining the number-one position when he leads Australia in the first Test against Sri Lanka, which starts in Hobart on December 14.

Sachin Tendulkar is the only Indian batsman to find a place in the top-20 list, ranked 18th with 669 points.

Cheteshwar Pujara is ranked 21st with 665 points.

South Africa will return to the Test arena next year when it plays New Zealand in the first Test in Cape Town on January 2, while the West Indies is not scheduled to play a Test until March when it will host Zimbabwe for a two-Test series.

AB de Villiers, who was the other centurion in the Perth Test, also moved up two places to seventh.

Among the bowlers, Dale Steyn continues to lead the table while Vernon Philander moved up a place to jointly hold the second spot with Sri Lanka spinner Rangana Herath.

South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel also moved up a spot to seventh.

For Australia, fast bowler Mitchell Johnson returned to the top 20 after moving up three places to 20th position.

The biggest mover in the bowlers' table is Mitchell Starc, who moved up 21 places to 53. Starc was rewarded for his spells of two for 55 and six for 154 in the Perth Test.

Shane Watson, in 23rd (down a place), and Nathan Lyon, in 29th (down by four), were the only bowlers to slip in the latest bowlers' rankings.

South Africa spinner Robin Peterson, who returned figures of three for 44 and three for 127, has re-entered the rankings in 78th.

Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha is the best-placed Indian at No 5 with 767 points, while seamer Zaheer Khan is ranked 14th, with 652 points.

Jacques Kallis continues to head the all-rounders' table followed by Shakib Al Hasan in second and Shane Watson in third place.