The Australians moved to Dubai across the weekend without knowing who their semi-final opponent would be, risking another flight back to Pakistan amid an already hectic schedule. But captain Steve Smith said the need for some freedom helped steer them to the location where their opponents have played and trained for the entire tournament, an advantage that has sparked significant criticism. Smith wasn’t even asked about the Indian advantage in a pre-match press conference with little other than Indian media in attendance but said team officials had “guessed right” and the extra days in Dubai, including a long conversation with the groundsman at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, could prove critical in exceeding early expectations and making another final. “We guessed right in the end, ideal to be here and have a couple of days preparation. Had we stayed and waited for last night’s result we would have had to have flown here today and play tomorrow, not get a chance to train on the surface or get used to the conditions that we have at the academy,” Smith said. “And if we had to go back, we would have just got on the same plane back as New Zealand and had a day there before playing, so it made sense to us. “We had a little reset and a chance to have a couple of days here outside of a pretty strict sort of bubble, I suppose, in Pakistan with the security and stuff. It’s been nice to just have a couple of days chill here, a bit of training. A couple of guys have played some golf and wandered around and done some stuff like that. “We’re well prepared for tomorrow now and looking forward to it.” Smith didn’t give any selection secrets on who will replace injured Matt Short at the top of the order, with the potential for another spinner to come in. The wicket for the semi-final is a used one and “certainly looks a dry surface”, according to Smith, which will make combating India’s spinners, and the use of his own slow bowlers, crucial. “I think for us the game’s probably won and lost how we play this spin, particularly in the middle overs, the way we get through there. It’s going to be a challenge,” he said. “I think that there’s going to be some spin by the looks of it, looking at the surface, and we’ve got to counter that. “We’ve achieved everything that we wanted to. We made the semis at this present stage. That was the first objective. Hopefully, we can get another one up on India.”