Watch: Gavaskar’s warm hug after Nitish Reddy’s father touches his feet in respect

Nitish Reddy`s family in frame, father Mutyala touches Gavaskar`s feet (Pic: Amit Shah/Screengrab/X)

Emotional scenes unfolded at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday when India's newest Test centurion, Nitish Kumar Reddy's father, Mutyala, bowed in reverence to cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar and touched his feet.

The emotional moment, captured on video, quickly went viral on social media. Gavaskar embraced Nitish's father, overwhelmed by the gesture, while the 21-year-old cricketer's mother and sister looked on, moved by the touching exchange.

Nitish had made headlines on Saturday, scoring a crucial century that helped India recover from a difficult position on the third day of the fourth Test at the MCG.

The Reddy family had traveled all the way to Australia to witness the match, and Nitish did not disappoint, delivering his best performance of the tour so far. His century, along with a vital 127-run partnership for the eighth wicket with fellow all-rounder Washington Sundar, played a pivotal role in India's recovery.

From a perilous 221 for 7, the visitors finished the day at 358 for 9. On Sunday, Australia swiftly wrapped up the Indian innings, dismissing the last wicket to bowl them out for 369, taking a commanding 105-run lead.

Reddy was the final wicket to fall, dismissed by off-spinner Nathan Lyon for 114, which included 11 fours and a six. This century brought his tally in his debut Test series to 293 runs across six innings, the highest among Indian batters. Australia's Travis Head currently leads the list with 409 runs.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, Jasprit Bumrah (4/30) continued to lead India's fightback but Marnus Labuschagne's unbeaten 65 helped Australia, who were 135/6 at tea, extended their overall lead to 240.

Bumrah completed 200 dismissals in Test cricket when he removed Travis Head (1) and soon accounted for Mitchell Marsh (0) and Alex Carey (2) as Australia slipped from 53 for two at lunch to 91 for six.