Mohammad Shami made his first-class debut in 2011. Two years later, he has 18 first-class matches, 14 ODIs and a Test cap to his name. The last feat is the most special for the 23-year old Bengal fast bowler.

Not only did Shami began his Test career on his home ground, the Eden Gardens, but also fulfilled his life-long dream of sharing the dressing room with Sachin Tendulkar. The big, bright cherry on the cake was his bowling figures of 17-2-71-4 on his first day at Test cricket.

His numbers do tell a happy story but not the complete one. With the new ball, Shami bowled much better than what his figures suggested. There were edges flying behind the wickets and several misses from the batsmen. It was only in the second session, when the lost ball was replaced and Shami displayed the sublime skill of reverse swing, that he reaped true reward of his effort.

After the day’s play, the quiet and unassuming pacer allowed himself to be a little emotional as he spoke to bcci.tv about the day when three of his biggest dreams came true.

Have these two years gone past really fast?

I really don’t know how they went by so quickly. Having said that, there is a lot of hard work that went in during these years. I think I worked the most on my bowling during this time and now I have something to show for it. The biggest thing for me was making my Test debut on my home ground. On top of that I got to play at this level with Sachin Tendulkar. It was an out of the world experience.

You got your first wicket (Kieran Powell) with the help of your fellow pacer, Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Were you expecting him to take that running catch?

Generally I don’t worry too much about catches being dropped because that is a part and parcel of the game – you take some, you drop some. But yes, since it was going to be my first Test wicket, I was a bit excited when Bhuvi ran in to take that catch. I was hoping he takes it, which he did.

You got both Marlon Samuels and Denesh Ramdin out with in-swingers. They both seemed surprised by the swing.

The original new ball we got for the match swung only for eight to 10 overs. But the replacement ball was reversing very well. That’s what we took advantage of and I concentrated on reversing the ball after that. Thankfully, I got the wickets.

One thing that stands out in you besides your pace is how frequently you bowl those yorkers. Why are they out of fashion these days?

I have always believed that you must have a good yorker to go with good pace. It is very difficult to play the combination of the two. In a Test match, the aspect I focus on the most is my length. My cutters and in-swingers are also a very important part of my Test bowling. As for more pacers not using the yorker, it is mainly because its use depends more on whether you can bowl the delivery and not whether you want to. There are times when the bowler is trying for the yorker but ends up going for runs. In that case he will obviously not try it again. But I believe that if a pacer has the ability to bowl a yorker at will, he should use it more often.

Dhoni said yesterday that you have the pace, the accuracy and swing. Now you need to work on your fitness so that you can bowl long spells in Tests. Agree with your captain?

I completely agree with him. Playing Test cricket takes a toll on your body and for that you need to maintain your fitness and strength. If I bowl fast in the first spell and then taper off, it is no good. So, I have to work on my physical strength so that I can run in for the captain and the team whenever I am called upon.