Tendulkars battered willow is lucky charm

Maestro has now scored 14 centuries with the bat he used to make 111 not out at Centurion.

Listen to this article

00:00

1x 1.5x 1.8x

As Sachin Tendulkar pushed one past the covers off the bowling of South Africas Dale Steyn to bring up his 50th Test century,one man,who resides in Jalandar,saw it as his own little victory.

The 111 not out at Centurion was Tendulkars fourteenth century using the same willow; one that is now battered,chipped and held together with tape. Somi Kohli,the owner of Beat All Sports,the makers of Vampire bats,has played a big role to ensure the willow is in a good condition for the Little Master to score runs. Kohlis association with Tendulkar goes back a long way almost till the start of the batsmans career. Its when they met the last time,during the Indian Premier League in May,that Kohli saw Tendulkar trying to repair the bat on his own.

Sachins 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, Kohli said.

Story continues below this ad

Even though Sachin was reluctant,I took the bat away from him. Then I gave it to my friend and former Ranji Trophy cricketer Arun Sharma and then Sharma and I got down to repairing the bat. The edges were repaired and we did a bit of grafting and protected the toe too. Sachin couldnt believe how good the bat was when I returned it to him, Kohli said.

Just before the South Africa Test series after scoring centuries against Sri Lanka and Australia Tendulkar sent the bat back to Somi for another round of repairing. The bat was in the best possible condition when I sent it back to him a day before he flew out to South Africa. I spoke to him after the Centurion match and told him that he would score his 100th century with the same bat, Kohli added.

According to Somi,Tendulkar considers the bat to be his lucky charm. During practice he uses others bats,but this bat is used only for matches or on the eve of a game for just a brief while to get the feel of the bat, Kohli added.

I hope he can bat with this willow till the end of the World Cup. We will repair it again. But I pray he gets a big century in the final of the World Cup with this bat.

Story continues below this ad

2nd Test: India vs South Africa at Durban starts Dec 26,2010. Time: 13:30 Indian Standard Time (IST) / 08:00 GMT.

Tags:
Durban Test

Pharma stocks fall up to 5 per cent after Trump announces 100% tariffs

Business3 hr ago

US President Donald Trump announced a 100% tariff on branded pharmaceutical products starting October 1, causing a decline in pharma stocks. Sun Pharma, Biocon, Abbott India Ltd, Lupin, Cipla, Dr Reddy's, Aurobindo Pharma, and Zydus Lifesciences all saw a decrease in their stock values. Trump also announced tariffs on kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, etc

View all shorts

Live Blog

PHOTOS