Rohit Sharma would be desperate to make a big score against CSK: The El Clásico of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will see Mumbai Indians face-off with the Chennai Super Kings – the two most successful sides in the competition’s history with 9 titles combined between them – on Thursday evening at the DY Patil Stadium.

The two teams who have dominated the IPL charts in the past 14 seasons, are now clinging on barely by a thread. Placed at the 10th position are the five-time champions who have lost all their six matches so far this season; just above them, and not doing much better than their counterparts, are the defending champions who have one a solitary match out of half-a-dozen outings.

Apart from a non-intimidating bowling attack that depends heavily on Jasprit Bumrah, Mumbai Indians have a massive issue at the top with skipper Rohit Sharma misfiring. They are in desperate need of inspiration and will hope their captain steps up today when they need to keep alive their campaign.

This season, in 6 innings, Rohit Sharma has managed 114 runs at an average of 19 and a strike rate of 129. He has got a solid start thrice but failed to convert in into a match-winning knock with a best of 41 while has been dismissed for 10 and lesser three times.

Rohit Sharma’s numbers against CSK:

Rohit Sharma has a decent record against the Men In Yellow. He has turned up against CSK in 30 matches – including one in Champions League Twenty20 – playing for his former team Deccan Chargers and current franchise Mumbai Indians.

In these games vs CSK, Rohit Sharma has aggregated 784 runs at an average of 29 while striking at 125. He’s hit 7 fifties against MS Dhoni’s team, with the most memorable one in the 2015 IPL final, a brisk knock of 50 runs off 26 balls that helped MI win the final.