Chennai: The Kolkata Knight Riders may have suffered heartbreak on Wednesday when they were knocked out of the fourth edition of the Indian Premier League by the Mumbai Indians, but Stephen Fleming is a happy man that Gautam Gambhir’s team are no longer in the title race.

Fleming, the Chennai Super Kings’ coach, said on Thursday that he is “pleased” that the Knights are out as they had a potentially strong bowling attack.

“I am pleased that the Knights are out of the competition... They had a good attack for these (Chennai) conditions with (Jacques) Kallis, (Brett) Lee and the spinners… About the Royal Challengers and the Mumbai Indians match, both are tough opponents and it will be a close match,” the New Zealander said.

He also feels that the Super Kings team management were “smart enough to pick a side that suited the Chennai conditions”, citing it as the reason for the team’s unbeaten run at home.

“What we did was to pick a side for these conditions... We were smart enough to select a side that will play well at home. I am proud of that… There will surely be some advantage because we are conditioned to play At home,” Fleming said.

The coach, however, doesn’t want his boys to be complacent ahead of the final. “It is nice to be back home… We certainly do not want to take the home conditions for granted. We have been comfortable playing at home this year, but final will be a very big challenge.”