Dubai, Sep 5 (IANS): Indian batter Virat Kohli has defended under-pressure Arshdeep Singh after his dropped catch of Asif Ali proved to be the turning point in the clash between India and Pakistan on Sunday.

In the 18th over of the match on Sunday, needing 34 runs, Asif Ali tried to sweep Ravi Bishnoi and it seemed like he would be returning to the pavilion. However, Singh dropped the straightforward chance and Ali survived to bring back the game in Pakistan's favour. He then received a lot of criticism from netizens.

Kohli later defended the young pacer, saying anyone could have made such a mistake during a high-pressure game.

"Anyone can make the mistake, the situation was tight. It was a high-pressure game and mistakes can happen. I still remember I was playing my first Champions Trophy and the match was against Pakistan, I had played a very bad shot against Shahid Afridi. I was watching the ceiling till 5 am, I was not able to sleep and I thought my career is over but these things are natural."

"Seniors players get around you, there is a good team environment right now, I give the credit to the captain and coach. The players learn from their mistakes. So one must accept his mistake, address it and look forward to being in that pressure situation once again," said Kohli.

India will now take on Sri Lanka in their next match on September 6.