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 The world number one has yet to drop a set in four matches in
California, and Williams made a tricky opponent on paper look
completely over-matched in the quarter-final encounter.
The 21-time grand slam champion blasted 28 winners to Halep's nine.
She also recorded seven aces, aptly closing out the match with an
unreturnable serve down the middle.
Williams also broke the Romanian's serve four times and improved her
head-to-head record to 7-1 against her fifth-seeded opponent.
A right knee injury forced Williams to withdraw from the event last
year, when she ended a self-imposed 14-year absence at the
tournament, giving Halep a walkover in their scheduled semi-final.
Halep ultimately defeated Jelena Jankovic to capture the crown but
her defeat to Williams keeps the American on course for a first
Indian Wells triumph since 2001.
 Third seed Agnieska Radwanska stands between Williams and a spot in
the final, with the world number one expecting a tough challenge
from the Pole.
"(Radwanska) knows how to play in big stadiums and big matches, big
games," Williams told reporters.
"Obviously she does everything so well, including running, and this
is a good surface for her because it's a slow surface. I think I
expect there will be a lot of long rallies."
Radwanska booked her semi-final berth when she fought back from 5-2
down in the second set on the way to a 6-2 7-6(3) victory over world
number nine Petra Kvitova.
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The 27-year-old, who was a runner-up at the event two years ago,
raced into a 4-0 lead in the tiebreak before wrapping up victory
after a little more than an hour-and-a-half at the Indian Wells
Tennis Garden.
"I am just so happy to be in the semi-finals here," Radwanska, who
will rise to number two in the next world rankings following the
win, said.
"I have nothing to lose, will have a good rest and be ready for the
semis."
Radwanska, who beat Jankovic in the previous round, breezed through
the opening set against an error-prone Kvitova on a baking afternoon
in the California desert.
Though the Czech produced much better form to open a three-game lead
in the second, Radwanska clawed back the deficit before dominating
the tiebreak with the help of a few generous net cords.
(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes and Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles;
Editing by John O'Brien)
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