Tendulkar's favourite piece of willow showed plenty of war wounds caused by hours of hard-hitting at the crease, with tape across its toe (bottom) and shoulder.
But its effectiveness was in no doubt as he scored an unbeaten 111 against South Africa in Centurion to notch up his 50th Test century -- sparking national jubilation and a message of congratulations from the prime minister.
Somi Kohli, the owner of Beat All Sports which makes Vampire bats, told the Indian Express that he had insisted on repairing the bat after seeing Tendulkar trying to do the job himself earlier this year.
"Sachin's knowledge about bats is phenomenal but I told him that just like doctors are specialists, a willow also needs to be looked after by bat doctors," he said.
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