Durban: Australian coach Tim Nielsen has conceded that India will start the ICC World Twenty20 semifinal with a slight advantage because it has played all but one of its four completed matches at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground where it enjoys solid support from fans to the extent that it has become some kind a 'home base'.

"It seems there is a different way of playing in Durban compared to the other grounds in the tournament," he said of the track on which bowlers have been able to challenge the batsmen to come up with something really solid and not flashy. "That is something we need to get on top of when we play India.

"I am certainly not surprised that India has made it to the semifinals," he said. "It has a lot of young and enthusiastic players who are relishing the opportunity to play for their country, which is fantastic. We have seen some of these players at our academy over the last two or three years. RP singhand Dinesh Karthik have been there. Some of our guys have played against Rohit Sharma a couple of years so. We know a little about these players and that these are fine cricketers."

He lamented the fact that Australia has had a busy schedule. "We have travelled a bit back and forth. From Johannesburg to Cape Town and now here to Durban. And we only get the one day's rest between games. So finding the time to continue your preparation, your skill work is tough," he said. "That is the nature of the beast. T20 is all about adapting to the conditions as quickly as you can because if you don't, you might find yourselves on the back foot and under pressure. We need to make sure we are switched on from ball one."

Nielsen believed that while it will get down to the team that makes more runs, the bowlers have come into their own here. "We haven't seen the high scores that we have in Johannesburg or even in Cape Town," he said. "Whoever bowls first will have a chance to make an impact on the game and the team that bowls second will see the ball zip around a bit when the lights come on."

For all that, the Australian coach said that the team was getting better every day. "We have come off a long break and it is nice to have a bit of competitive cricket. The less competitive games before a big tournament do not let you find your feet or get back into the swing of things or have the pressure of winning or losing," he said. "I suppose you don't get that kind of contest in practice games. It is great that we could find our way through to this stage of the tournament. We are hitting the semifinals in as good a shape as we can be."

Nielsen admitted that coming off the break, Australia was a little bit unsure how the tournament would work and how T20 would go. "The guys in our international team have played only three or four T20 games each. And each time, it has been in a fun kind of scenario – during a break between Tests and ODIs," he said.

"Losing to Zimbabwe was a shot in the arm, a tonic. It was not a great fun that night as we would have hoped for but it squared us up to the target and made us focus that if we weren't quite right, we would be under pressure to keep going to the next stage of the tournament," Nielsen said. "We are lucky in a way that happened. Most importantly, we got the time to practice and train right to get the skills rights gave the players the confidence that they can cope under pressure. When you are down in confidence and don't have the time to work on your cricket skills, you start doubting yourself a little bit. The more and more work we have done, the boys are comfortable with where they are at.

"It has been a bit harder for us that we haven't had a lot of T20 cricket at the domestic level that these guys have played. We also have had no cricket for a long time. So we did back our best group," he said of Australia's selection. "We did back the guys who played so well at the World Cup 2007 to do the job for us. Good cricketers are good cricketers, aren't they? Be it Test or ODI cricket, they have shown that when they are switched on they are more able to do that."

He is not worried that Australia's middle-order hasn't been tested severely so far. "They are working hard at the nets. They are getting their volume in. We will take a 10-wicket victory everytime we can get one. Given the opportunity tomorrow night, if it is not Gilly and Haydo, we hope it will be somebody else," he said.

Durban: Australian coach Tim Nielsen has conceded that India will start the ICC World Twenty20 semifinal with a slight advantage because it has played all but one of its four completed matches at the Kingsmead Cricket Ground where it enjoys solid support from fans to the extent that it has become some kind a 'home base'.

"It seems there is a different way of playing in Durban compared to the other grounds in the tournament," he said of the track on which bowlers have been able to challenge the batsmen to come up with something really solid and not flashy. "That is something we need to get on top of when we play India.

"I am certainly not surprised that India has made it to the semifinals," he said. "It has a lot of young and enthusiastic players who are relishing the opportunity to play for their country, which is fantastic. We have seen some of these players at our academy over the last two or three years. RP singhand Dinesh Karthik have been there. Some of our guys have played against Rohit Sharma a couple of years so. We know a little about these players and that these are fine cricketers."

He lamented the fact that Australia has had a busy schedule. "We have travelled a bit back and forth. From Johannesburg to Cape Town and now here to Durban. And we only get the one day's rest between games. So finding the time to continue your preparation, your skill work is tough," he said. "That is the nature of the beast. T20 is all about adapting to the conditions as quickly as you can because if you don't, you might find yourselves on the back foot and under pressure. We need to make sure we are switched on from ball one."

Nielsen believed that while it will get down to the team that makes more runs, the bowlers have come into their own here. "We haven't seen the high scores that we have in Johannesburg or even in Cape Town," he said. "Whoever bowls first will have a chance to make an impact on the game and the team that bowls second will see the ball zip around a bit when the lights come on."

For all that, the Australian coach said that the team was getting better every day. "We have come off a long break and it is nice to have a bit of competitive cricket. The less competitive games before a big tournament do not let you find your feet or get back into the swing of things or have the pressure of winning or losing," he said. "I suppose you don't get that kind of contest in practice games. It is great that we could find our way through to this stage of the tournament. We are hitting the semifinals in as good a shape as we can be."

Nielsen admitted that coming off the break, Australia was a little bit unsure how the tournament would work and how T20 would go. "The guys in our international team have played only three or four T20 games each. And each time, it has been in a fun kind of scenario – during a break between Tests and ODIs," he said.

"Losing to Zimbabwe was a shot in the arm, a tonic. It was not a great fun that night as we would have hoped for but it squared us up to the target and made us focus that if we weren't quite right, we would be under pressure to keep going to the next stage of the tournament," Nielsen said. "We are lucky in a way that happened. Most importantly, we got the time to practice and train right to get the skills rights gave the players the confidence that they can cope under pressure. When you are down in confidence and don't have the time to work on your cricket skills, you start doubting yourself a little bit. The more and more work we have done, the boys are comfortable with where they are at.

"It has been a bit harder for us that we haven't had a lot of T20 cricket at the domestic level that these guys have played. We also have had no cricket for a long time. So we did back our best group," he said of Australia's selection. "We did back the guys who played so well at the World Cup 2007 to do the job for us. Good cricketers are good cricketers, aren't they? Be it Test or ODI cricket, they have shown that when they are switched on they are more able to do that."

He is not worried that Australia's middle-order hasn't been tested severely so far. "They are working hard at the nets. They are getting their volume in. We will take a 10-wicket victory everytime we can get one. Given the opportunity tomorrow night, if it is not Gilly and Haydo, we hope it will be somebody else," he said.