Mutayla Reddy could not hold back his tears! Just after his son Nitish lofted an on-drive to reach the three-figure mark at the Melbourne Cricket Ground ((MCG). The grey morning transformed into a day of dreams. 

Mutayla swapped his dreams for his son, watching him at MCG with pride swelling in every beat of his heart. Nitish Reddy’s gallant century came at a time when India were trembling at 191 for the loss of six wickets. 

There were smiles too. Nitish's celebration - a nod to his roots with the "Pushpa" movie gesture - brought a slice of home to a foreign land. It wasn't just a cheeky tribute; it was a reminder of the kid who once danced around in gully cricket, dreaming big.

Mutayala Reddy had left his job at Hindustan Zinc in 2016 to nurture Nitish's talent. The task was not easy. They had gone through sleepless nights, missed meals, and countless compromises. But the struggle and the pain seemed to have vanished, suddenly felt like destiny when Mutayala stood in the stands, watching his son's bat kiss the century mark on Saturday.

“To be honest, I was not serious when I was young. My father left his job for me and there has been a lot of sacrifice behind my story. One day, I saw him crying because of financial problems we were facing and I was like this is not how you can be that my father made the sacrifices and you play cricket just for fun. At that time, I became serious and I got the growth, I worked hard and it paid off," Nitish revealed while speaking to Indian Express. 

He added, “As a son from a middle-class family, I am so proud that my father is happy now. I gave my first jersey to him and saw happiness in his face and I feel very proud." 

For Nitish, the journey to the MCG was meteoric. From Kurnool's cricket fields to IPL stardom with Sunrisers Hyderabad, his rise was paved with runs, wickets, and a hunger to prove doubters wrong. A breakout IPL season in 2024 catapulted him to the national side, and receiving his Test cap from Virat Kohli was a dream come true.

"Everyone wants to be a hero in their cinema but when it comes to Nitish's story it is Mutyala who is the hero," Nitish Kumar Reddy’s childhood coach Kumar Swamy told Indian Express. He explained more stating, “It was his father's hard work that fuelled Nitish to achieve something in life. Even the family had to go through a lot of criticism from close associates. His father had to hear the taunts that despite being jobless why he had been wasting time hours after Nitish. Still, Mutayla never gave up.”

Now, the world watches. As the sun sets over Melbourne, one thing is clear: this young man, with a father's dreams stitched into his jersey, has arrived.