Former Indian captain Virat Kohli defended youngster Arshdeep Singh, who dropped a simple catch of Asif Ali in the high-octane clash against Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday while fielding at short third.

Ali was yet to get off the mark when Singh gave him a second life on the bowling of Ravi Bishnoi in the 18th over of the innings. The right-hander went on to score a little cameo of 8-ball 16 and the drop catch proved costly as Ali was able to score his runs at a strike rate of 200 to bring the required rate down.

Kohli feels anyone can make the mistake and it is crucial for a player to rectify them when the next opportunity comes. It was a high-pressure situation and Singh could not hold his nerves.

Kohli revealed that the team environment is good and the senior players always back the youngsters whenever they commit a mistake on the field.

“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 in the post-match press conference.

Meanwhile, Arshdeep Singh scalped one wicket and conceded 27 runs in the 3.5 overs he bowled. Singh plumbed Asif Ali in front of the wickets in the final over of the run-chase and made things interesting in the end.

However, Pakistan was able to get over the line by five wickets after Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Nawaz scored 71 and 42 runs respectively.

India will next take on Sri Lanka at the same venue on Tuesday.