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Dravid ... 10,000 Test runs.

CHENNAI, India (AP):

SOUTH AFRICA dominated day four of the opening Test against India yesterday as the match drifted toward a draw amid a series of batting records.

South Africa claimed nine wickets in the first two sessions to dismiss India for 627 and restrict the first-innings deficit to 87 runs. Then Neil McKenzie hit an unbeaten 59 to steer the tourists to 131-1 in their second innings at stumps.

Resuming at Friday's score of 468-1, Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid stretched their second-wicket partnership to 268 before Sehwag fell in the sixth over of the day - immediate reward for South Africa's taking of the second new ball.

Having joined Australia's Don Bradman and West Indies' Brian Lara as the only men to score two Test triple centuries, Sehwag added only 10 runs to his overnight score before edging paceman Makhaya Ntini (3-128) into the hands of McKenzie at first slip.

Fastest triple century

His innings, which was the fastest triple century since numbers of balls were recorded, included 43 fours and five sixes off 304 deliveries over nine hours.

The early departure of Sehwag - who set the new highest score by an Indian of 319 - prompted an unravelling of India's innings.

Incoming batsman Sachin Tendulkar lasted only five balls, failing to get off the mark before edging an Ntini delivery to Jacques Kallis at slip.

Dravid and Sourav Ganguly put on 45 runs for the fourth wicket to take India past 500, while Dravid passed 10,000 runs in Test cricket.

He became just the sixth man to have reached five figures, along with fellow Indians Tendulkar and Sunil Gavaskar, Lara and the Australian pair of Allan Border and Steve Waugh.

"It's a proud moment for sure," Dravid said. "I probably exceeded my own expectations in reaching 10,000.

"The image of Gavaskar raising his bat on scoring his 10,000th run in 1987 is still clear in my mind. I never thought I'd get this far when I began my Test career in 1996."

Ganguly was out caught behind off spinner Paul Harris (3-203), with Dravid not out on 99 at lunch.

He brought up his 25th century in 120 Tests but his patient innings of 111 - in 292 balls with 15 fours - ended when he edged Ntini to South Africa captain Graeme Smith.

Steyn barrage

The tail fell away quickly, with Dale Steyn (4-103) taking four wickets in the space of 21 deliveries as the hosts last five wickets fell for just 54 runs.

In South Africa's second innings, Smith fell lbw to Harbhajan Singh for 35, but McKenzie and first-innings centurion Hashim Amla (35 not out) added 78 runs in an unbroken second-wicket stand.

McKenzie struck seven boundaries off 98 balls in his half century.