Kohli, Johnson rattled by first-ball bouncer

The penultimate over before lunch on day three of this first Commonwealth Bank Test proved that while Test cricket is back, the memory of Phillip Hughes is never far away.

Still deeply affected by the loss of their mate, Australia's players rushed to the aid of Virat Kohli after the Indian captain was struck on the helmet by a first-ball bouncer from Mitchell Johnson.

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Virat Kohli ducks into a Mitchell Johnson bouncer // Getty Images

Brad Haddin, Shane Watson, David Warner and Nathan Lyon – who were some of the first on the scene when Hughes was struck two weeks ago – were among the Aussie players who ran to Kohli as the India skipper removed his helmet to inspect the damage.

Johnson also quickly moved towards the batsman with a look of genuine concern on his face.

It was a level of compassion that wasn't afforded to England's batsmen last summer, when Johnson and his teammates bounced and bullied their way to a 5-0 Ashes whitewash.

Nor to the South Africans during an at-times fractious away series in Feburary.

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The Aussies rush in to check on Kohli // Getty Images

But cricket has changed immeasurably since Hughes passed away a fortnight ago, a freak "one-in-a-billion" injury caused by a short-pitched delivery that hit the batsman on the neck .

"Your heart skips a beat, especially for the four guys out there (for the Hughes incident)," Lyon said after play.

"I know I went to everyone just to ask if they were OK because it's something that you don't want to see again.

"Today, that sound was pretty familiar.

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

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

Thankfully, Kohli was unharmed by the blow and after taking a few moments to compose himself, waved away umpires Marais Erasmus and Ian Gould and gave the all clear to Aussie captain Michael Clarke.

Moments before Clarke walked in to check on Kohli, the skipper had rubbed Johnson's hair and placed his hands on the rattled quick's shoulders as he slowly walked back to his mark.

Johnson sombrely trudged back with his head lowered before he stopped to speak with fellow quick Peter Siddle while Clarke returned with another reassuring pat as Kohli repositioned his helmet and took guard.

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Clarke (centre) chats with Johnson after the incident // Getty Images 

The left-armer, whose career revival has been built on instilling fear into opposing batsmen with his lightning speed and bounce, admitted on Monday he was unsure how he would react to striking a batsman, now that Hughes's passing had given the game a reminder of the dangers batsmen face.

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

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

Johnson had set the session alight the over before he struck Kohli, unsettling Murali Vijay with a series of short balls before he had him edging behind to Haddin for 53.

The quick celebrated the wicket by touching his hand to his heart in acknowledgement of Hughes, before delivering the bouncer to Kohli, which struck the Indian on the crest of his helmet as he ducked his head.