Eight burning questions ahead of the India/Australia Cricket World Cup semifinal

In 2011, Australia took on India in a quarterfinal in Ahmedabad. The Australians made 260 on the back of captain Ricky Ponting’s 104 – it was his last World Cup. India made that score with five wickets in hand and knocked Australia out of the 2011 World Cup. India won that World Cup on home soil.

Fast forward four years and not much has changed: Australia-India in a knockout game, this time Australia hosting and, Indian captain MS Dhoni is playing his last World Cup. Michael Clarke and his men will be looking at this semifinal as a revenge mission on home soil and will be throwing the kitchen sink at India. However which way you look at it, this India-Australia World Cup semifinal is going to be legendary. Here are eight burning questions ahead of Wednesday night's epic encounter.

1. Virat Kohli’s last big score was against Pakistan. Is he saving his best for Australia? Possibly. No doubt he’ll be fired up for this game. And when Kohli has a cause, he usually comes out on top with a mountain of runs. Throughout this World Cup, it’s not as if he’s been terrible, he just hasn’t made those big scores well into the hundreds that we expect from him. His World Cup scores: 3, 38, 44*, 33, 33*, 46, 107. Lots of starts. Kohli is due for a big one and what better time to do it than against his old mates from Australia.

2. Will the pitch be spin friendly? Probably not. India’s groundsmen certainly didn’t prepare fast and quick pitches during the 2011 World Cup that would assist the Aussies. They tailored their wickets to suit India’s bowlers. Same applies here. I’d be surprised if the S.C.G was manicured into a turning, spinning wicket when it hasn’t been that way in Sydney for quite some time. Expect a similar wicket to the one during the Sri Lanka-Australia match where almost 700 runs was scored.

3. These two teams have a history of trash talking each other. Will the semi final be any different? Absolutely not. These two teams go at each other’s throat during lesser games. The stakes are high. The winner goes into the World Cup. The loser is toast. Australia are the masters of trash talking but can get carried away with it. Trash talking is not in India’s DNA, so when they do it, they take it too far. This leads to deadly chemistry on the field that can only equate to heated verbal battles and post match fines.

4. India are 8-0 at the World Cup but Australia are slight favourites. Why? A few reasons. First, Australia has the home ground advantage. Second, Australia are ranked no.1 in the world for a good reason. Third, Australia went into the World Cup boasting a perfect summer of wins against India. India’s World Cup record is good, and they’ve done well to reverse their poor pre-World Cup form, but on paper, player versus you can’t go past the all-round, flexible talent and potency of Australia.

5. Can India’s bowling unit take on Australia’s top six bats? Apart from opening bowling Shami who has 17 World Cup wickets, who else will step up? Yadav has 14 wickets at the World Cup but was terrorized by Australia’s batsmen for three months. Then there’s Ravi Ashwin (12) who won’t spin the ball that much and will try to contain rather than take wickets. And Sharmi and Jadeja won’t be relied upon to grab a bag of wickets as they aren’t prolific or consistent enough. The good news for India is that Australian opening pair David Warner and Aaron Finch aren’t in the best form and Michael Clarke hasn’t been his brilliant self, although he did make a valuable 68 at the S.C.G in his last match. India’s bowling unit could be the deciding factor in this match: if they bowl well, it’s game on; if they are too wayward, then it’s goodnight.

6. Australia’s spearhead Mitch Johnson hasn’t been that influential this World Cup. Can he make an impact? He’s only claimed 10 World Cup wickets but don’t let those numbers fool you. Johnson has that x-factor and can win games with his powerful mix of short and full-length bowling.Through in the fact he tormented India’s batsmen before the World Cup for three months. He’ll take that confidence into the semifinal hungry for bags of wickets.

7. Indian captain MS Dhoni: this could be his last World Cup match. What can we expect from him? Expect good captaincy. Expect a calming influence. Expect him to assess every pressure filled situation and deal with it with aplomb. He will be sorely missed when he officially retires and India will miss his outstanding leadership. Just know, if the match is on the line and he’s at the crease, there is every chance he’ll get India home. Retiring as back-to-back World Cup captain has a nice ring to it, too.

8. Who will win this semifinal? Australia has too many weapons. They’ve also been winning games without the likely candidates firing: Warner, Clarke, Johnson, Faulkner. That’s a sign of great depth. Whatever situation Australia is confronted with against India, expect them to adapt and do what’s needed to win. Having said that, I do like India’s chances. They have performed unexpectedly well during the World Cup and have jumped through the right hoops to arrive at the semi final. Australia, though, is India’s bogey team. If India are to win they need to bat first, make a 300-plus score and bowl as a pack. Australia will be eyeing payback for the 2011 World Cup exit at the hands of India. Never bet against a team on a retribution errand.