Chennai: The match against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday night, would be a "tough battle" for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK), feels their coach Stephen Fleming.

"They are an excellent side," said the CSK coach. "They have some good batsmen... We played them in a couple of finals, including in the Champions League T20. We have respect for KKR," added Fleming.

KKR defeated CSK in the 2012 IPL final, but lost the final of the CLT20 last year.

Fleming said it would be wrong to assume that KKR would be dependent on their batsmen and spinners. "They have a balanced squad this year, with both (Morne) Morkel and Andre Russell doing very well. They are using their pacers in the right manner. KKR are in good form and it would be a good challenge for us," the coach said.

Fleming made it clear that he was looking forward to his pacers to deliver the goods in Tuesday's match. At the same time, the team management is carefully monitoring the fitness of veteran bowler Ashish Nehra.

"We are always monitoring Ashish," said Fleming. "He is not getting younger. Currently, he is flying high and playing really well. But we keep monitoring him, especially given his track record with fitness," he added.

Nehra, 36, has turned out to be a key bowler for CSK this season. He has already captured 12 wickets and is the second highest wicket-taker behind the Delhi DareDevils' South African spinner Imran Tahir.

Asked about the fitness of Irfan Pathan, the CSK coach said the bowler was regaining full fitness. "People ask me why Pathan has not been played yet... But he had a hamstring injury. Now he is close to being fully fit.

Fleming, a former New Zealand captain, was full of sympathy for KKR spinner Sunil Narine, but said his team was not concerned whether the West Indian would play on Tuesday night.

"Well, I find the Narine issue a bit confusing," said Fleming. "There are always going to be concerns and no one would like to see a player put under pressure for such things. We have not given it much thought. We will deal with it on the day, but we will be prepared," Fleming added.The pitch at the Chidambaram Stadium wouldn't help the spinners much, the coach felt. "We have assessed the spinners' output. It posed a challenge to our spinners the other day... The challenge still remains," said Fleming.<>