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'We're sitting pretty in a good position. I suppose some of the negatives might be we were pretty similar to this last year, then sort of relaxed towards the end.'
'Our main objective will be to get into the play-offs first, then we will think of finishing among the top two.'
Kolkata Knight Riders may be having a good time in the ongoing IPL season, having registered six victories from nine matches, but head coach Jacques Kallis warned against complacency, saying the team had slipped out of contention from a similar position last season.
"The positive, of course, is we're atop the table. We're sitting pretty in a good position. I suppose some of the negatives might be we were pretty similar to this last year, then sort of relaxed towards the end," Kallis told reporters on the sidelines of 'Knight Golf', a charity initiative at the Royal Calcutta Golf Club in Kolkata on Thursday.
Rewind to IPL-2015. Then the defending champions, KKR had climbed to pole position after a thrilling one-run victory over Kings XI Punjab at the Eden Gardens on May 9, but, as it turned out, they lost two matches (to Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals) on the trot and dropped out of the top-four and missed a play-off berth.
"We are aware of that and hopefully we have learned from it. We're working hard. The way the guys gel together getting a balanced side, there's a lot of positives going forward," the legendary South African all-rounder said.
Returning home after being on the road for six matches over three weeks, KKR defeated the same Kings XI Punjab on Wednesday night to displace Gujarat Lions from the top in the points table on net run-rate.
Thanks to four victories from six away matches, their last four prospects are brighter this time, as the two-time former champions need to win two more matches off their remaining five.
"It's been a tough three weeks on the road. It makes it a lot easier for us. But having said that you still have to play good cricket. We can't just sit back and expect that we will win at home. It's nice to have that cushion.
"Hopefully we can carry that forward. Probably you need eight wins; that means two more for us. Certainly that will be our first objective. Obviously, it becomes easier when you finish among top two.
"Certainly, our main objective will be to get into the play-offs first, then we will think of finishing among the top two," said Kallis, reminding the team of the old cliche, ‘One game at a time’.
Showering praise on their Jamaican all-rounder Andre Russell, he said: "Andre's been magnificent for us the last couple of years. He's really come up leaps and bounds as a cricketer. He's very destructive at the death as we have seen many times."
Man-of-the-match in Wednesday’s outing against the Kings, Russell's 4 for 20 and the run-out of Axar Patel (21 off 7 balls) gave KKR a seven-run victory.
"I think he really did well under pressure with the task to defend 12 in the last over. He really stood up and made it count; will take a lot of confidence from this."
On their ace spinner Sunil Narine's injury, Kallis expressed hope that the Trinidad off-spinner would be fit before Sunday's clash against Gujarat Lions.
"He hurt his bowling finger in warm-up against previous game. He wasn't fit. We will wait and see. Hopefully he will be ready by Sunday."
Kallis hastened to add that the team is lucky to have Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan as their owner.
"We always feel he's with us. Win or lose he's always sending messages. We have learnt a lot from him. He's so humble even after what he's achieved. He lifts the guys when he's at the ground. We're certainly lucky to have someone like him around."
An avid golfer, in a lighter vein, he said he found the sport a tad bit frustrating compared to cricket.
"If I look back to my career, you can hit the cricket ball travelling at 150kph roughly wherever you want to... But the golf ball standing still, you can't hit where you want to. It's very frustrating indeed. They say golf is a good way to relax, but I'm not really convinced about that."