Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], May 6 (ANI): Mumbai Indians (MI) star batter Rohit Sharma is just 79 runs away from becoming the second player ever to register 7,000 runs in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The former MI skipper, who led the Blue and Gold franchise to the IPL glory five times, could reach another milestone of his glittering T20 career if he gets another big score against Gujarat Titans (GT) at Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.

Currently, Rohit is the second-highest run-getter in the tournament's history, with 6,921 runs at an average of 29.83 and a strike rate of 132.00. He has hit two centuries and 46 fifties in 262 innings throughout his IPL career.

At the top is Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Virat Kohli, who has made 8,509 runs in 263 matches and 255 innings at an average of 39.57, strike rate of over 132.60, with eight tons and 62 fifties.

Rohit kickstarted his career with the Deccan Chargers, playing for them from 2008-10, scoring 1,170 runs in 45 matches and 44 innings at an average of 30.79, strike rate of over 131. His best score was 76*, and he scored eight fifties for the side.

For MI, he has made 5,751 runs in 222 matches and 218 innings at an average of 29.64, a strike rate of over 132, with two centuries and 38 fifties.

Rohit is also just three sixes away from becoming the first Indian player and overall second after Chris Gayle (357) to touch the 300-sixes mark in the league's history.

In the ongoing season, Rohit has made 293 runs in 10 matches and innings at an average of 32.55, with a strike rate of over 155 and three half-centuries. His best score is 76*. After struggling to score in the first half of these 10 games, with just 56 runs, the Hitman roared back with 234 runs in his next five innings, with three half-centuries at an average of 58.50.

Ahead of the match, head coach Mahela Jayawardene said that the Hitman converting his starts into big scores is giving the team an advantage.

'The openers do play a very valuable part in establishing the tone. Especially with the batting line-up that we have, when we get a good start, it always complements us for the rest of the innings. And that is what we wanted to do.

'The way Rohit's been converting his starts right now gives us a lot of advantage, and Ryan (Rickelton) has been enjoying batting with him as well. He is getting bilingual experience out there in the middle,' he said.

Squads:

Gujarat Titans Squad: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Jos Buttler(w), Washington Sundar, Rahul Tewatia, Shahrukh Khan, Rashid Khan, Ravisrinivasan Sai Kishore, Gerald Coetzee, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ishant Sharma, Mahipal Lomror, Anuj Rawat, Arshad Khan, Sherfane Rutherford, Manav Suthar, Kumar Kushagra, Gurnoor Brar, Nishant Sindhu, Kulwant Khejroliya, Karim Janat, Jayant Yadav, Dasun Shanaka

Mumbai Indians Squad: Ryan Rickelton(w), Rohit Sharma, Will Jacks, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Naman Dhir, Corbin Bosch, Deepak Chahar, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Karn Sharma, Raj Bawa, Satyanarayana Raju, Robin Minz, Reece Topley, Mitchell Santner, Ashwani Kumar, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Krishnan Shrijith, Raghu Sharma, Arjun Tendulkar, Bevon Jacobs. (ANI)