India Skipper Virat Kohli Hit By Mitchell Johnson Bouncer [Update]

Hearts skip a beat when Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson struck India skipper Virat Kohli with a bouncer. The incident took place on the third day the first test in Adelaide.

Johnson's sharp short-pitch delivery hit the helmet of the Indian skipper. Interestingly, it was the very first ball Kohli faced in the match. Johnson had a three-over spell by the end of the morning session teasing the opening batsman Murali Vijay with a few short-pitch balls. He eventually had Vijay caught behind to allow the Indian captain to come to the field. Johnson welcomed Kohli with a bouncer, which hit the Indian badge of his helmet. The Australian players rushed to Kohli to see if he was alright. It showed that the recent tragedy involving Phillip Hughes was still fresh in the cricketers' minds. David Warner, Nathan Lyon, Shane Watson and Brad Haddin, who had closely witnessed Hughes hit by the lethal bouncer only a couple of weeks back, were among the first fielders to rush to Kohli.

The Guardian reported that the Indian batsman, on the other hand, was quick stand on his ground. He removed his helmet not because he had any injury but because he wanted to check if the helmet was damaged. Johnson, who seemed to have genuine concern for the Indian batsman, was also among the players who wanted to make sure Kohli was alright. Kohli convinced Australian fielders to get on with business. He also waved umpires Ian Gould and Marais Erasmus away as he assured Australian skipper Michael Clarke that he was fine. No injury was reported. Cricket.com.au reported that Australia had not shown the same level of compassion to England last summer when Johnson and his teammates had been really tough on the field to win the Ashes 5-0.

Clarke made sure that Johnson was alright about the incident as well. He rubbed the paceman's hair and placed a hand on his shoulders. Johnson walked slowly back to resume his bowling run-up. When Kohli made sure to Clarke that he was alright, the Australian skipper went back to his bowler once again. He left a reassuring pat on Johnson who had earlier admitted that, after the Hughes tragedy, he would not be sure how to react after striking a batsman. Kohli went on to make a century on his captaincy debut before throwing his wicket away to Johnson.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au