A 1-0 home series win over South Africa, clinched by Harbhajan Singh's match-winning performance in the second Test on Thursday, was enough to lift India above Pakistan and leave Sourav Ganguly's side snapping at the heels of second-placed England.

India's current rating of 107 is also the highest it has had since the ICC Test Championship was launched in May 2001. Ganguly's men could move closer to England if they win their upcoming series in Bangladesh.

Australia's comfortable home series win against New Zealand has extended its lead at the top of the table. The 2-0 victory means that Australia will end a second consecutive calendar year leading the official table by a large margin with a rating of 130.

The defeats round off a disappointing year of Test cricket for South Africa and New Zealand which has seen their ratings fall by nine points and 11 points respectively.

TABLE
Following is the Test Championship table up to and including December 2 (position, team, rating):
1 Australia	130
2 England	109
3 India	107
4 Pakistan	105
5 Sri Lanka	103
6 South Africa	100
7 New Zealand	93
8 West Indies	73
9 Zimbabwe	51
10 Bangladesh	0