India have dominated with both bat and ball when they played in Mumbai earlier in this World Cup, thrashing Sri Lanka by a mammoth margin of 302 runs.

Rohit Sharma and Co., unbeaten so far in the tournament, obviously know the conditions at the Wankhede well enough and much better than their rivals. Agreed, the knockout stage is always a different ballgame and New Zealand have often spoiled India’s party in world meets. In fact, the Black Caps have lost just one semi-final clash (against Pakistan during last year’s T20 World Cup) in World Cups over the last eight years. But that’s not the only reason why Team India have their fingers crossed. The bounce of the Wankhede pitch is also a factor.

“It's a difficult venue to bowl in. The bounce there is true and batsmen often dominate there,” chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav said at the mixed zone following India’s 160-run win over the Netherlands in Bangalore on Sunday.

“Unlike in T20s, the bowlers will have plenty of time to come back into the game though. But yes, you need a couple of early wickets to get on top of the game and the opponents," Kuldeep added.

Of the four league-phase matches the Wankhede has hosted in the ongoing Cup, 350 has been breached thrice and in all those three games, the teams batting first (South Africa and India) registered comfortable wins. In the previous game there though, Australia had chased down a stiff 292-run target to beat Afghanistan, but that was purely because of double-centurion Glenn Maxwell’s individual brilliance.

That said, bowlers too have had their share of assistance from the red-soiled Wankhede track, particularly when bowling second. Precisely, apart from India's dominance over Sri Lanka, South Africa too had tamed England and Bangladesh by 229 and 149 runs, respectively.

This only reflects that if bowlers land it in the right areas, the pitch is certainly there to offer help. Importantly for India, both Kuldeep and Ravindra Jadeja have fared consistently so far in their campaign, ensuring the early inroads from the pacers didn't go in vain.

“The bounce which is there does make it a very good pitch for batting,” agreed International Cricket Council head curator Andy Atkinson. “But there’s some swing in the second session for the quicks, depending upon the heat and humidity as well as the overall weather.

“The red soil, in any case, helps spinners. Now, with the kind of humidity in Mumbai, the conditions are obviously a little more comforting for the team batting first,” he said.

Wednesday's wicket could be a slower one but India know the conditions better.