Amla, who was declared man of the match in the Perth Test, has moved up two places to third position with 875 ratings points following his match-winning knock of 196 in the second innings of the series-decider.
West Indies batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul is now the top-ranked batsman with 879 ratings points. Australia captain Michael Clarke, who made five and 44, has slipped to second position after regaining the number-one spot last week at the conclusion of the Adelaide Test.
Although four ratings points separate the top three batsmen, Clarke will have the first shot at regaining the number-one position when he leads his side in the first Test against Sri Lanka, which starts in Hobart on 14 December. South Africa will return to the Test arena next year when it plays New Zealand in the first Test in Cape Town on 2 January, while the West Indies is not scheduled to play a Test until March when it will host Zimbabwe for a two-Test series.
AB de Villiers, who was the other centurion in the Perth Test, has also moved up two places to seventh.
Among the bowlers, Dale Steyn continues to lead the table. Vernon Philander has moved up a place to jointly hold the second spot with Sri Lanka spinner Rangana Herath.
South Africa fast bowler Morne Morkel has also moved up a spot to seventh.
For Australia, fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has returned to the top 20 after moving up three places to twentieth position.
The biggest mover in the bowlers' table is Mitchell Starc who has now moved up 21 places to 53rd. Starc was rewarded for his spells of two for 55 and six for 154 in the Perth Test.
Shane Watson in 23rd (down a place) and Nathan Lyon in 29th (down by four) were the only bowlers to slip in the latest bowlers' rankings.
South Africa spinner Robin Peterson, who returned figures of three for 44 and three for 127, has re-entered the rankings in 78th.
Jacques Kallis continues to head the all-rounders' table followed by Shakib Al Hasan in second and Shane Watson in third place.
End of an era
Australia batsman Ricky Ponting has ended his Test career in 26th position in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test batsmen. Ponting achieved the number-one ranking for the first time in his career in December 2003 when he stroked 257 against India in the Boxing Day Test which helped Australia win the Test by nine wickets and level the four-Test series at one-all.
The 37-year-old achieved his career-best rating of 942 in the second Ashes Test in Adelaide in December 2006 when he scored 142 and 49 in Australia's six wickets victory. This rating put him third alongside Jack Hobbs and behind Sir Don Bradman (961) and Len Hutton (945) on the all-time list of Test-best ratings.
Ponting also ended his ODI career in 39th position in the Reliance ICC ODI batting rankings. Ponting first topped the ODI rankings on 18 May 2003 when he scored 57 against the West Indies in the second ODI at Sabina Park, Jamaica.
