Kohli (886 points) and Rohit (868 points) have gained two and three ratings points, respectively to occupy the top two positions in the batting rankings.
Pandya's absence means that India will have to rejig their bowling attack. Jasprit Bumrah has already been rested for this series, as well as the tour of New Zealand, and this allows the think-tank to conduct one final experimentation with their bowling attack.
Australian pacer Kane Richardson, who grabbed a five-for felt that the dismissal of Mahendra Singh Dhoni proved to be a turning point as the home team recorded a 25-run win against India.
Australia opener David Warner became the fifth batsman at the World Cup to get an unexpected reprieve after he dragged a ball on to his stump but the impact failed to dislodge the zing bails in Sunday's match against India.
India would eye nothing less than a clean sweep when they take on an Australian side significantly weakened by injury blows, in the third and final T20 International, in Sydney, on Tuesday.
The second T20 International between India and Australia was called off due to rain at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday.
Check out the Mumbai Indians squad for the eighth edition of the Indian Premier League.
Steve Smith smashed an unbeaten half-century to power Australia to a seven-wicket victory against Pakistan in the second T20 International in Canberra on Tuesday.
The dew factor will go out of the window but the searing heat will be an issue when Royal Challengers Bangalore take on a better prepared Rajasthan Royals in the first of the 10 IPL double-headers, in Abu Dhabi, on Saturday.
Australia and Pakistan are currently playing the second match of a two-Test series in the UAE, with Tim Paine's side seeking their first series win in Asia since 2011 after a battling draw in the last match.
Australia, who host the T20 World Cup from October 18 to November 15, had won eight games in a row before losing to South Africa by 12 runs in Port Elizabeth on Sunday.
The mood in the Indian camp was summed up best by the skipper after a green pitch was unveiled on eve of the maiden Test at the new facility.
David Warner scored an unbeaten half-century in vain as Australia blew a comfortable chase
With home advantage comes home expectation as Eoin Morgan leads arguably the strongest England side in the history of the tournament which has seen a co-host triumph in the last two editions.
Following is a fact box on the second Test of the four-match series between Australia and India:
West Indies opener Chris Gayle, who is a popular name among T20 leagues around the world, was not picked along Sri Lankan fast bowler Lasith Malinga.
Scroll down to see the list of other awardees and cricketers who glamed up the night in their sartorial best.
Kane Richardson gets nod ahead of Josh Hazlewood as replacement
Will Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa both play the 1st ODI in Chennai on Sunday?
Why New Zealand pulled out of tour match in Sydney on Day 2
Unbeaten in all the three games they have played so far in the tournament, Gujarat Lions would look to continue with their impressive winning run when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad in an IPL match in Rajkot on Thursday. The Lions have been in red-hot form in their debut season with convincing wins in all the three games and they would seek to maintain a clean slate tomorrow at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium. The home side will also be bolstered by the return of all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja who did not play in the Lion's seven-wicket thrashing of defending champions Mumbai Indians in Mumbai due to his wedding.
Rohit Sharma's sizzling century went in vain as Australia survived a few anxious moments before pulling off a tense four-wicket win over India in a cricket tri-series ODI match in Melbourne.
Royal Challengers Bangalore's head coach Simon Katich and Director of Cricket Operations Mike Hesson backed Virat Kohli to stay as the captain despite yet another IPL heartbreak and the criticism around it.
Hosts Australia will pull on a classic uniform from the 1980s featuring green strip on bright gold top and pants when they take on India in the three-match ODI series.
The legendary Indian cricketer was the Man of the ODI series, but the Most Valuable Player title went to an unlikely Aussie, point out Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji.
Rising Pune Supergiants now face an uphill task of taming the rampaging Gujarat Lions in an Indian Premier League clash, in Pune, on Friday.
The likes of Suresh Raina, Brendon McCullum, and Aaron Finch will be aiming to match the likes of Glenn Maxwell, Hashim Amla, and Marcus Stoinis stroke for stroke on what promises to be another belter of a track.
A win over Australia would see the Black Caps through and represent a strong recovery from their six wicket loss to Pakistan at Edgbaston on Wednesday.
The IPL starts on September 19 and, in all likelihood, all the English and Australian players will land in the UAE via a charter flight on September 17, making them available for their respective team's opening match.
England captain Eoin Morgan refused to hit the panic button after defeat by Australia on Tuesday left his team's hopes of reaching the Cricket World Cup semi-finals in the balance. The pre-tournament favourites and hosts have now lost three group games and may need to beat India and New Zealand in their next two matches to make the last four.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag, on Tuesday, said that Australian players are more concerned about bagging lucrative Indian Premier League deals during next year's auction which prevented them from sledging their Indian counterparts during the recently concluded series that hosts won 4-1.
Australia have their own speedsters in Mitchell Starc, who is level with Archer with 15 wickets, and Pat Cummins (11).
The Virat Kohli-led RCB has won five of its eight games on the back of all-round performances but seemingly blundered in the eight-wicket defeat to laggards KXIP on Thursday.
Following is a fact file on the first Test match between Australia and India in Adelaide and how the teams have performed at the Adelaide Oval over the years:
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's in-form bowling unit could take a lot of encouragement out of the struggling Australian batting.
Purnendu Maji and Srinivas Bhogle list the Most Valuable Players during the India-Australia ODI series.
Australia will need to defy history to chase down the total and survive the wiles of Ravichandran Ashwin on a fifth day pitch.
It will be a test of character and battle for supremacy when Delhi Daredevils and Gujarat Lions, two of the most impressive teams of IPL 9, lock horns against each other at the Feroze Shah Kotla stadium in New Delhi on Wednesday. Barring one bad day in office, both Daredevils and Gujarat Lions had a near perfect campaign so far in the tournament. While new outfit Gujarat Lions are comfortably placed at the second spot in the eight-team standings with eight points from five matches, the Daredevils are a place below in the third position with six points from four games.
Australia will want to steer clear of another defeat at the hands of India when the teams lock horns in the 4th ODI in Bengaluru, so it will only be prudent if they bring in Faulkner for the faltering Richardson and give Agar the boot, says Norma Godinho.
The West Indies used plenty of short-pitched deliveries to dismantle Pakistan in their Cricket World Cup opener, but the Caribbean batsmen will get a taste of their own medicine when they face champions Australia, fast bowler Nathan Coulter-Nile has said.
