Cricket World Cup 2015 Schedule: Updated Bracket, Latest Odds and Predictions

South Africa made history on Wednesday as they won their first ever World Cup knockout match and reached the semi-finals with victory over Sri Lanka.

The Proteas' clash with Sri Lanka had been set to be the most competitive of the last-eight encounters at the 2015 World Cup, but South Africa won easily in the end, by nine wickets.

Thursday's second quarter-final sees in-form India take on Bangladesh, before co-hosts Australia and New Zealand look to advance against Pakistan and West Indies respectively.

Read on for the latest World Cup schedule, along with predictions for the semi-finalists, and the quarter-final match odds (in brackets):

Fixture	Date	Time (GMT)	Venue	Prediction
India (1-6) vs. Bangladesh (4-1)	March 19	3:30 a.m.	Melbourne	India Win
Australia (2-9) vs. Pakistan (3-1)	March 20	3:30 a.m.	Adelaide	Australia Win
New Zealand (2-7) vs. West Indies (5-2)	March 21	1:30 a.m.	Wellington	New Zealand Win

India, Australia, New Zealand to Advance

With South Africa having already made it through to the last four, New Zealand and West Indies know who awaits them in the semi-finals should they win their last-eight encounter in Wellington on Saturday, per ICC:

For India—the competition's form side along with New Zealand—either Australia or Pakistan awaits for a Sydney last-four clash, assuming they can pick up what should be a routine win over Bangladesh.

The Tigers impressed in beating England and running the Black Caps close in their last two group games, but they simply do not have the depth of quality to compete with tournament specialists India.

Phil Walter/Getty Images

The defending champions have turned their rotten pre-tournament form around in Australia and New Zealand, producing a perfect group-stage campaign in which they won every match.

Their batting prowess is there for all to see, and Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni have all hit form during the World Cup.

But their bowling has been the biggest surprise, improving from an average outfit to a unit which has bowled out each side they've faced thus far, restricting some of the best hitters in the game, per former England captain Michael Vaughan:

Mahmudullah looks to be Bangladesh's only consistently high-scoring batsman—he has consecutive centuries in his last two matches—and they look to have made it as far as they will go at this World Cup, with India all but guaranteed winners of the second quarter-final.

Australia have a slightly trickier task against Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval on Friday, though the co-hosts' form still makes them firm favourites to advance.

The Aussies have a formidable core of players, Mitchell Starc having outshone Mitchell Johnson with the ball thus far, while batsmen David Warner and Glenn Maxwell have scored heavily and at pace.

Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

Against New Zealand they showed vulnerability in being bowled out for a measly 151, but Pakistan don't look to have the bowlers to repeat the Kiwis' trick, although they did shock South Africa with a fine win against the Proteas in the group stages.

Home advantage and greater depth of quality make Australia favourites, but it is not a foregone conclusion as Pakistan do have it in them to cause an upset.

New Zealand, like India, produced a perfect set of results at the group stage, and as far as former Indian opener Aakash Chopra is concerned, they have the beating of last-eight opponents West Indies:

Indeed, while the Windies responded well to an opening loss to Ireland to eventually make the knockout rounds on net run rate, the Black Caps have been a class apart in the tournament, especially in terms of consistency.

In Chris Gayle, Lendl Simmons, Darren Sammy and Marlon Samuels, West Indies have highly capable batsmen. 

But they are too inconsistent, and do not look to have a strong enough bowling attack to restrict New Zealand effectively enough to claim a shock win.

The Kiwis look primed to go all the way to the final, with strength throughout the squad and home advantage pushing them on.

South Africa stand as formidable opponents in the semi-finals—New Zealand have lost six last-four encounters at World Cups—but a meeting with the Proteas looks inevitable for the brilliant Black Caps at the very least, and they should have ambitions of making it even further.