Chennai, Mar 29: The 10,000 Test run club just got bigger with Rahul Dravid joining the elite league as its newest member en route to his 111 against South Africa on Saturday. It was yet another feather in the cap of the former India captain, who had begun his Test journey back in 1996 against England at the game's spiritual home in Lord's.

Incidentally, watching him achieve the milestone from the other end was Sourav Ganguly, who had hogged the limelight in that 1996 Test with a century on debut, a landmark Dravid missed by just five runs.

Dravid was batting on 79 in his 120th Test match when he flicked Morne Morkel and completed the single to reach the 10,000 run club as the third Indian cricketer.

Since Sunil Gavaskar (10122) first scaled the peak, Allan Border (11174), Brian Lara (11953), Steve Waugh (10927) and Sachin Tendulkar (11782) have achieved the landmark.

Otherwise a stoic cricketer, Dravid had a quiet celebration as he raised his bat, took off the helmet and kissed it before acknowledging the rousing standing ovation from the crowd that included his elated wife Vijeta and son Samit. Ganguly too came down for a congratulatory hug.

Though Dravid went on to score his 25th Test ton just after the lunch, he was far from being fluent even on the docile MA Chidambaram track, something evident from his strike rate of 38.14. In fact his effort looked a struggle in comparison to Virender Sehwag's dazzling triple century. He finally fell to Makhaya Ntini after a 291-ball 111 that included 15 hits to the fence.

During the course of his innings, 'The Wall' also became the first batsman to play 150 innings at the number three position.