India will have the opportunity to become the number one Test side in the world when they take on Sri Lanka in Mumbai on Wednesday.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's men are 1-0 up in the Test series and could overtake South Africa at the top of the ICC rankings if they win the third Test with another victory.

That would see Sri Lanka drop back behind Australia to fourth, but a win for Kumar Sangakkara's side would ensure that they keep their pre-series ranking of third. A draw would see South Africa maintain their status as top dogs.

Meanwhile Muttiah Muralitharan's poor form has resulted in Mitchell Johnson taking second spot in the rankings for Test bowlers, with the spinner slipping to third place behind the Australian and the number-one ranked Dale Steyn.

Elsewhere Shane Bond and Mohammad Asif have made impressive returns to Test cricket and now occupy seventh and ninth place respectively.

Gautam Gambhir has become the number one Test batsman in the world on the back of his 167 in Kanpur, where India recorded an innings-and-67-run win over Sri Lanka.

Gambhir's leap has pushed the Sri Lanka duo of Mahela Jayawardena and Sangakkara into second and third positions respectively, while the other batsman to profit from the recent spate of cricket matches is Ross Taylor.

The New Zealander scored 94 and 59 in the Dunedin Test as the hosts beat Pakistan by 32 runs, and has jumped seven places to a career-high of 17th.

Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf, Australia's Michael Clarke, Younis Khan of Pakistan and South Africa captain Graeme Smith have all moved up one place after Shivnarine Chanderpaul's double failure in the Brisbane Test saw him move from eighth to 12th.