Indian opener Gautam Gambhir regained the number one spot but veterans Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman lost ground in the International Cricket Council's Test Rankings, issued on Sunday.

Gambhir returned to the number one spot after his eighth career century helped India record an innings and 144 runs victory over Sri Lanka in the second Test in Kanpur.

Gambhir, the ICC Test Player of Year, scored 167 and featured in a 233-run first wicket stand with Virender Sehwag who has also climbed four places to return to the top-20 in 19th place.

ICC Rankings

The left-handed Gambhir had first surged to the top of the batting table in July but lost his position a month later to Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara. He had entered the Test series in second place and had dropped to third after the first Test in Ahmedabad.

Gambhir's leap has pushed the Sri Lankan duo of Mahela Jayawardena and Sangkkara into second and third positions respectively.

Also moving in the right direction are Rahul Dravid, whose 28th career century has helped him rise three places to 18th and Yuvraj Singh, who is up three places to 44th in the latest list.

The players failing to retain their positions include Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, who have slipped a rung each to 16th and 20th respectively.