Kerry O'Keeffe has apologised after his comments about Mayank Agarwal and Indian first-class cricket backfired.
Agarwal starred on day one of the Boxing Day Test, scoring 76.
It is the highest Test score on debut by an Indian in Australia.
At 27, the opener has had to wait for his chance and O'Keeffe questioned the quality of the opposition attack for Agarwal's highest first-class score of 304no.
Speaking on Fox Sports, O'Keeffe wondered aloud whether Agarwal had made the triple ton against "canteen staff".
That sparked a social media backlash and O'Keeffe apologised later on Wednesday.
"There was no way I was demeaning the standard, it was tongue in cheek," O'Keeffe said.
But Agarwal lad the last laugh, making full use of the tame MCG pitch.
His only regret was that the innings did not last longer.
"I am happy, but obviously I would have liked more," he said.
"I would have liked to have gone on, score (more) runs and stay in."
While Agarwal rarely looked in trouble, he confessed to pre-game nerves.
"It wasn't easy to control the emotions and focus," he said.
"I just kept telling myself there's a plan I have to follow."
He has more runs in this series than India's previous openers Lokesh Rahul and Murali Vijay, who were dropped for the Boxing Day Test.
Agarwal was dismissed on tea, when he tried to fend off a Pat Cummins short ball down the leg side.
The ball clipped his gloves and Tim Paine took a sharp diving catch.
Agarwal faced 161 balls, hitting eight fours and a six.
He shared in a 73-run stand with Cheteshwar Pujara that took India to 2-123.
Apart from Cummins hitting him on the arm, Agarwal looked at home and was feasting on another batting-friendly MCG Test strip.
India dropped Rahul and Vijay for Boxing Day after a succession of poor starts in this series.
They only managed one double-figure opening stand in the first two Tests.
Rahul had scored 48 runs in the series and Vijay managed one run more.
Hanuma Vihari was promoted from No.6 to open in Melbourne with Agarwal and he continued India's opening struggles.
Vihari only managed eight, plus a dented helmet courtesy of ducking into a Cummins bouncer, before the paceman dismissed him for eight.
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