Players of Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians during the match. (IPL photo)
NEW DELHI: Ravichandran Ashwin has called for an urgent change in DRS rules following the controversial final ball incident during the IPL 2026 clash between Punjab Kings and Mumbai Indians in Dharamsala on Thursday.The former India spinner took to social media after Punjab were denied a bye despite successfully overturning a review lbw decision on the last ball of their innings.“This wrong decision cost Punjab a run, this rule needs to be changed asap! Like how Impact Sub is an IPL rule, DRS reversal should be put in IPL even if ICC is delaying it for some reason,” Ashwin wrote.Final ball controversy sparks debateThe incident occurred when Jasprit Bumrah trapped Vishnu Vinod lbw with the last delivery of Punjab’s innings. The on-field umpire raised his finger but the batsman immediately checked.The records showed that the ball was missing the stumps and the decision was reversed. However, as the umpire had initially given it away, the ball had already been declared dead, meaning Punjab did not get the bye they completed.Ashwin pointed out that a wrong call on the field actually cost Punjab one run, reigniting the debate over whether the IPL should adjust the playing conditions independently.Punjab recovers to post 200The incident culminated in a dramatic innings that saw Punjab post 200 for 8 after a collapse threatened to derail them.Prabhsimran Singh played with 57 and shared a brisk opening stand with Priyansh Arya. But Mumbai hit back through Shardul Thakur who claimed four wickets to trigger a middle-order collapse.As Punjab slipped badly, Azmatullah Omarzai launched a late counter-attack with 38 off 17 balls, while Vishnu Vinod and Xavier Bartlett added crucial runs at the death.
