The latest rankings were released on Tuesday after the conclusion of the Leeds Test and also incorporate performances from the Jamaica Test, which was won by the West Indies against New Zealand by five wickets on Sunday to seal a series win of 2-0.
Pietersen's knock of 149 in England's first innings score of 425 not only earned him the man of the match award but also provided him with a leap of seven places, which has put him in 10th position. He is now the second England batsman after Alastair Cook to find a place in the list of top 10 batsmen dominated by South Africa.
Cook has retained his eighth position after scores of 24 and 46 while Jonathan Trott has gained two places and is now just outside the top 10 in 14th position in the list, which is headed by Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara.
Marlon Samuels, who scripted West Indies' victory in the Jamaica Test with scores of 123 and 52, has also jumped four places to 27th position.
The news is not so good for captains Ross Taylor and Andrew Strauss, as well as Chris Gayle, who have dropped in the latest rankings. Taylor has dropped one place to 13th, Gayle has fallen four spots to 25th while Strauss is now in 29th position after slipping one spot.
Other batsmen to lose their ground include Ian Bell in 17th (down by two), Brendon McCullum in 26th (down by three), Kane Williamson in 47th (down by six), Dean Brownlie in 63rd (down by one), Narsingh Deonarine in 66th (down by three) and Kieran Powell in 69th (down by four).
Meanwhile, South Africa's fast bowler Vernon Philander has achieved a career-best ranking as well as career-best rating after match figures of three for 98. He has leapfrogged Sri Lanka's left-arm spinner Rangana Herath into third position, while his current rating of 797 means he trails his team-mate and number-one ranked Dale Steyn by 91 ratings points and Pakistan's second-ranked off-spinner Saeed Ajmal by 35 ratings points.
England's Stuart Broad is the other mover inside the top 20. The fast bowler, who recorded match figures of eight for 165, has climbed two places to seventh.
Bowlers dropping in the latest rankings are Morne Morkel in ninth (down by three), Tim Bresnan in 19th (down by three), Steven Finn in 26th (down by two) and Darren Sammy in 28th (down by two).
In the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test all-rounders, South Africa's Jacques Kallis still leads Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan, while Broad has moved up a place to fourth and Pietersen has gained 33 places to 46th spot.
Reliance ICC Test Championship table
In the Reliance ICC Test Championship, England needs to win the Lords Test, starting from 16 August, to retain its number-one position while South Africa requires a draw to move to the top of the tree.
If England wins the Test, it will finish on 121 ratings points, pushing South Africa behind Australia into third position on 114 ratings points. However, if England loses the Test, then it will slip to second position on 117 ratings points while South Africa will move to number-one spot on 120 ratings points.
If England salvages a draw, then both the sides will be tied on 118 ratings points with South Africa taking the top spot by a fraction (0.1634) of a point.
West Indies and New Zealand have also swapped places on the Test table with West Indies now seventh and New Zealand eighth.
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