Sachin's pep talk was a life saver

India was playing a Test series against West Indies in 2002 and at that time, I was a part of the team. The third match was scheduled in Barbados. We were eager to prove ourselves as the result of the previous two matches had been very disappointing for us. My performance was also not upto the mark and I was determined to do better.
On D-day, I was a bundle of nerves.Dada (Sourav Ganguly), who was the skipper then, was continuously encouraging me. But there was too much of expectation and I was very tense. When it was my turn to bat, I was very anxious. Mervyn Dillon was bowling against me and as luck would have it, I was out on his first delivery!
It was a huge blow to me and I thought that was the end of my career. I returned to the dressing room feeling extremely low and dejected. All my team members, including Dada, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, showed empathy and support. They said that failure is part of life and that I should not let it control my life. But at that moment, I was beyond any consolation.
I went back to my room knowing that I was plunging into depression. After sometime, none other than Sachin Tendulkar called me to his room and had a long talk with me. His views on life, success and failure were extremely inspiring. He helped me cope with what I can call the most difficult day in my life. In the evening, we all went out to have dinner. Things seemed a little better for me and till this day, I am thankful to my fellow teammates for boosting my confidence. Without their help, it would have been impossible for me to handle my failure.
As told to Madhusree Ghosh