It was a day full of tears of joy at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia’s most hallowed cricket venue. The father cried beyond the limit, the mother and sister’s eyes were also wet, and around them grown men and women shed tears. In the comments section, Ravi Shastri’s eyes moistened.

How could you not get emotional? At the very end, when he was at 99, the game situation, with Australia still well ahead (India ended the day on 358 for 9, 116 runs behind Australia), didn’t matter. The game and the fact that the series was online didn’t matter. Only this one run counted. Nothing else.

It was about a young man who was India’s favorite on the tour and who earned the respect and admiration of the tough fans of a sun-drenched country who had booed Mohammad Siraj incessantly throughout the series and who had booed Virat Kohli on Thursday when he Bat came to himself and after his release.

𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠.

The Reddy family was a bundle of emotions today. Witness the magical moment as they hug Nitish after he wowed the world with his extraordinary first Test century at the MCG.

A day anchored in memories… pic.twitter.com/uz9mrASuRm

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 28, 2024

The same Australians clapped, shouted and urged the young Indian to keep going. It was pretty surreal. In a way, it was a celebration of sport – a young batsman who approached his game with great poise and character was on the verge of something special. And the Australians also recognized it and prepared for the moment.

Sometimes exercise can push boundaries and leave adults weak in the knees. Later in a pub near the ground, a usual post-MCG “Mountain View” hangout, a few Australians actually raised a toast and said: “To your young Indian, you should be so proud mate.” For a moment we forgot “That it was Siraj with the bat and hoped that he too would survive – just for young Reddy!”

At some point the Indians would be proud at the MCG and beyond, and for more specific reasons. For Reddy Gaaru. “Have you noticed that Telugu speaking cricketers have a great record and relationship with Australia? VVS Laxman, Mohammad Azharuddin and now joined on this list by Nitish Kumar Reddy!” An emotional 73-year-old Gopal Tangirala, founding chairman of the Australia Telugu Community and Cultural Centre, tells The Indian Express.

Or even Shivlal Yadav, born and raised in Hyderabad, whose 52 out of 102 Test wickets came against Australia. “Nitish seems to have the same kind of poise, talent, personality and kindness – just like Laxman. I met Azhar and also Laxman a few times. Just like Laxman, Nitish Reddy is a thorn in Australia’s side in all series, isn’t he?!” Tangirala adds.

According to Tangirala, there are at least 22,000 Telugu-speaking families in the state of Victoria, where Melbourne is located. “I would easily say over 50,000 people. Nitish’s brave feat makes us all proud, not just us, entire India! It was no surprise that his parents were in tears, we all were!”

Nitish Kumar Reddy scores his maiden Test century and receives a standing ovation from the MCG crowd ❤️ #AUSvIND | #PlayOfTheDay | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/Vbqq5C26gz

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 28, 2024

But as the father said, the preceding moments were full of “tension.” When Siraj was beaten on the first ball, he faced Pat Cummins, who had replaced Nathan Lyon after realizing he had to be the villain, the killjoy. And he did his best. Siraj hit the first ball and it almost tore a piece off his bat. And the cries of “Oooooohhhhh” rang out at the MCG, where the most controversial Bodyline series was seen, which in some ways brought out the Australians’ barracking culture against their opponents.

But this time the audible scream sounded like relief that there was no wood on the leather.

Until the moment Washington Sundar fell to the equally important 50, the mood was different as it had looked like it would be a journey to a hundred. The Australians were still clamoring for a wicket and a large section of the Indians seemed almost convinced that the two youngsters were going for a cruise. As Sundar fell, there was silence across much of the record third day crowd of 83,073. The last time more people turned up for Day 3 at the MCG was when Don Bradman, the greatest batsman to ever play the game, hit 56 overnight at the end of Day 2 in the Ashes Test in January 1937. He of course scored a big hundred the next day. But now the record crowd wasn’t sure as Cummins – apart from one day in Perth when Kohli and for that matter Reddy launched his attack – never let a moment pass before Cummins rushed in to take away the Indians’ joy. Not surprisingly, he defeated Bumrah.

Siraj came in and even the Australian fans seemed to have forgotten that they had to “dislike” him.

Dark clouds hung around MCG. Cummins threw a bouncer and Siraj quickly ducked. The Australian captain smiled and the crowd applauded loudly. Reddy clapped and walked down the track to say something. Siraj didn’t move. Travis Head was short legged, young pup Sam Konstas was at the stupid point. The slip cordon was full. Cummins took a moment at the end of the run-up and charged back into the attack with his unique run-up, landing with both feet almost crookedly in the same spot. MCG exploded and held its breath at the same time, if that’s possible. But it was that kind of day.

In the past, Siraj had performed remarkably well in Chennai, allowing R Ashwin to score a special hundred in Chennai. Now he wanted to do it for Reddy. And he leaned forward to defend a length shot as compactly as ever, maintaining a head-bowed pose that would have made Sunil Gavaskar proud, who had attacked Rishabh Pant for a miss earlier in the day. Konstas grabbed the ball and threatened to throw it down the stumps. Siraj didn’t even look up. The crowd, which had constantly booed him since his fight against Head, cheered – presumably for his survival. The moment became absolutely surreal.

On the third ball of hometown hero Scott Boland’s next over, who hadn’t bowled a single loose ball all day, Nitish Kumar Reddy hit it to the screen on the up-and-over and calmly ran to the other side. All around him the Indians and Australians were losing their heads. Also his family. Not him, though. He bent quietly on his right knee, took his time placing the helmet on the bat and pointed a finger skyward.

Siraj, who had rushed over excitedly, realized that the moment was for the younger partner and waited patiently before embracing him in the warmest hug imaginable – a hug that would appeal to not just Telugu speakers, not just Indians, but even the Australians seemed to want to do it. A hug full of joy.

Sometimes, just sometimes, cricket can bring everyone involved to tears. It was one of those local days that the locals affectionately abbreviate with “G”. The day Australians forgot how to boo and stretched their arms wide to hug and celebrate a 21-year-old Indian kid at their most treasured cricket venue: Reddy-Gaaru’s G.