Brian Lara has returned to the top of the LG ICC Test batting rankings following his first innings score of 176 in the third Test between West Indies and South Africa, despite being on the losing side.

Lara overtakes Jacques Kallis by the narrowest of margins to claim top spot in the official LG ICC rankings for the first time since May 2004.

India's Rahul Dravid dropped down to third.

Lara now has 886 points four more than Kallis while Dravid is third with 872 points. This is the West Indian's first stay at the top since May 2004.

The rest of the top-10 list remains unchanged with Virender Sehwag (5th) and Inzamam-ul-Haq (8th). Former No. 1 Sachin Tendulkar continued his stay at the 11th spot with 750 points, according to the ICC press release.

South Africa bowler Andre Nel has entered the top ten bowling list for the first time following his first Test match ten-wicket haul, which included the wicket of Lara in both innings.

AB de Villiers has moved up to a career-best position of 25th in the LG ICC batting rankings following his score of 178 in the match.