Memories of the freak accident that claimed Phillip Hughes's life came flooding back for Australia's players when Virat Kohli was struck on the helmet by a nasty bouncer from Mitchell Johnson on Thursday.

The Adelaide crowd, brought to life moments earlier by a rare Indian wicket, became eerily quiet as they sweated for a signal from Kohli confirming he had been unharmed.

Whereas Hughes had been through his shot when he was hit, Kohli, facing his first ball, ducked into Johnson's thunderbolt, wearing a blow on the badge of his helmet.

High hit: Virat Kohli is struck on the helmet by a Mitchell Johnson delivery. Photo: Getty Images

Kohli recovered to strike a chanceless century which has given India the opportunity to make a fist of the game in the final two days.

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In a sign of how much the game has changed in the past three weeks, the entire Australian team rushed in worried for Kohli's wellbeing.

Brad Haddin and David Warner, who were by Hughes' side when he was felled at the SCG, were among the first to come to Kohli's aid, the concern evident across their faces. Several players could be heard on the effects mike asking a shocked but unhurt Kohli if he was OK.

"Your heart skips a beat, especially for the four guys out there," said Nathan Lyon. "I know I went to everyone just to ask if they were ok. When we were out there with Phil's incident and today that sound was pretty familiar.

"That's why we all ran in there quite quickly, just to see if he was ok. That's the main thing. It's something you don't want to see happen ever again, what we saw with Phil."

Johnson also approached Kohli with consternation, anxiously hoping he had not caused serious damage to his opponent. Upon reaching Kohli, he offered the batsman a reassuring pat on the back.

The left-arm speedster was visibly shaken as he headed back to his mark. He was consoled first by skipper Michael Clarke, who ruffled his hair and massaged his shoulders, and at the end of the over by Haddin. At lunch he was told to maintain his aggression.

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

The players' reactions, and that of the crowd, were in marked contrast to a year ago at the Gabba when a red-hot Johnson tormented England.

It was inevitable that a batsman would again be struck in the head, though that would have provided little comfort to Clarke's team when the moment came.

It also came as little surprise Johnson would be delivering the blow as the express quick has inflicted more damage to international batsmen than any other bowler in recent times.

Johnson, whose attempts at exuding a fiery on-field persona belie a deeply sensitive soul, had said on the eve of the Test he would not know how to react the next time he struck a player.

But his follow-up ball, a 149.6km/h short-of-a-length cracker, showed he had heeded the lessons taught by his friend and Victoria Cross winner Ben Roberts-Smith.

The decorated military hero had stressed to him in 2012, when the bowler was down on confidence and form, the need to always get the job done no matter the circumstances.

Playing in his first match since Hughes' death, Johnson did not produce his first bumper until his 14th ball. In the meantime, he conceded three boundaries to Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan, who was not afraid to get on the front foot.

Johnson's best spells of the day came before lunch when he produced a string of high-class bouncers to Murali Vijay and nearing stumps.

Pinned on the crease by a pair of bouncers, one of which struck him on the arm, Vijay was anchored on his back foot the first ball of the following over from Johnson and was caught behind prodding meekly.

Having earlier sconed Kohli first ball, Johnson welcomed Wriddhiman Saha to the crease with a vicious lifter which stuck India's wicketkeeper on the gloves. He followed with another short-pitched bullet which whistled past Saha's nose.

"He's feeling good and I can guarantee you he will come out and fire in the second innings again and have the aggression we all love him for," Lyon said.