Lyon jolted by the sound of Kohli hit

When Virat Kohli was struck a fearful blow on the head, Nathan Lyon's heart skipped a beat.

He reckons the sound made by Mitchell Johnson's bouncer on Kohli's helmet was similar to when Phillip Hughes was fatally hit.

Lyon sought out his Australian teammates Shane Watson, David Warner and Brad Haddin - the quartet were playing for NSW when Hughes was felled while batting for South Australia a little over a fortnight ago.

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"Your heart skips a beat," Lyon said.

"Especially for the four guys out there, I know I went to everyone just to ask if they were okay because it's something that you don't want to see again, when we were out there with Phil's incident.

"And today that sound was pretty familiar.

"That is why we all ran in there quite quickly just to see if he was okay, that is the main thing.

"It's something that you don't want to see ever again, what we saw with Phil."

Mercifully, Kohli was okay - Johnson's bouncer caused no damage and the acting Indian captain went on to score a majestic century on day three of the first Test in Adelaide.

Lyon said the blow, coming in the wake of Hughes's death, actually proved beneficial.

"It probably has been a positive thing as well, as bad as that sounds - we know the helmets work and to have that confidence for our quicks to bowl the bouncer again," he said.

"I know we spoke about it at lunchtime with Mitch. He is feeling good and I can guarantee he's going to come out and fire in the second innings and have that aggression that we all love him for."

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Johnson was among the Australians to check Kohli's welfare - the concerned paceman offered the Indian a pat on the arm amid a hushed Adelaide Oval crowd.

Australian captain Michael Clarke then comforted Johnson, placing supportive hands on his shoulders and giving him a pat on the back.

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Kohli, who was struck first ball, was batting with Cheteshwar Pujara at the time.

"Everyone went to Virat and asked him is he alright or not," Pujara said.

"First he checked the helmet ... but the helmet was fine. Even he was fine.

"Overall, I think he batted really well forgetting about that particular ball."