Kyle Jamieson wears some large cricket boots. But, figuratively speaking, he'll have to go up several sizes to ably fill those vacated by Neil Wagner in Wellington.

The 2.03m Auckland seamer is difficult to miss but he'll be the most-watched bowler in this intriguing first cricket test as India and New Zealand bring vastly different formlines to the Basin Reserve at 11.30am on Friday.

Home skipper Kane Williamson all-but confirmed Jamieson, 25, for his test debut alongside Tim Southee and Trent Boult as Wagner remains in Tauranga with wife Lana for the birth of their first child.

PHOTOSPORT New Zealand have won five straight test series at home and haven't lost a match since South Africa in Wellington in March 2017.

On a pitch that groundsman Hagen Faith has left more moisture in to try and maintain pace and bounce for five days, Jamieson after his impressive ODI cameos could be a handful if visiting skipper Virat Kohli calls incorrectly at the toss.

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Both captains will desperately want to bowl first, with Kohli having the luxury of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma, as good a pace trio as India's brought to New Zealand.

PHOTOSPORT Black Caps bowler Kyle Jamieson celebrates the wicket of India's Prithvi Shaw in the ODI series, with the pair set to meet again at the Basin Reserve.

Wagner bounced out Bangladesh in the Black Caps' win in three days last March, and is the man for later in the test when the going gets tough and batsmen usually prosper. He was huge in Australia, too, and his absence will be felt.

"You don't replace a guy like Neil; the qualities he brings are quite unique. You bring in a guy that targets different areas coming from a different height, and a really exciting opportunity for Kyle Jamieson," Williamson said.

Who fills the final spot in New Zealand's XI wasn't confirmed by Williamson, aside from saying Matt Henry - summoned as cover for Wagner - would not play.

GETTY IMAGES Kane Williamson scored 57 runs in four innings on a tough Australian tour and he says the lessons have been revisited this week.

The means a choice between allrounder Daryl Mitchell and spinner Ajaz Patel. The Black Caps ditched their spinner against Bangladesh - and for the 2014 Basin epic against India - and after a Friday morning pitch inspection Mitchell might be favoured as an into-the-wind option who can nip the ball about, and add batting strength at No 8.

After what you could call the phony war - 5-0 to India in Twenty20s and 3-0 to the Black Caps in the ODIs - this is where it gets really serious and we get a proper gauge of the respective sides.

India are world No 1 and on a seven-match winning streak, their place in next year's World Test Championship final almost assured, while New Zealand beat England 1-0 as world No 2 before a 3-0 Australian mauling.

PHOTOSPORT Coach Gary Stead and captain Kane Williamson say they will wait until match morning to decide between Daryl Mitchell and Ajaz Patel.

Home comforts will ease those mental scars with Williamson's side having won five straight series in New Zealand since their last defeat, to South Africa in Wellington in March 2017.

Williamson struggled in Australia and was ill for the Sydney finale, and said they'd revisited it in the buildup to this test.

"We were exposed in a number of areas and conditions were a big factor but also the learning curve of going to Australia where we know conditions are tough and limiting that expectation so you just focus on the process that's held you in good stead," Williamson said.

"It was a tough series in terms of a result to swallow. You can't change the past but you can use it definitely to improve as individuals and as a team."

India travel well these days and have very few weaknesses with their bowling attack and batting powerhouses Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.

Openers Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw will be targets for New Zealand's quicks, and the mighty Kohli hasn't really got going on tour yet. The skipper did score a century in his last test knock in New Zealand, the 2014 draw at the Basin.

Ross Taylor's 100-test milestone will ensure a healthy, vocal crowd in the 8000-capacity Basin, boosted by the reopening of the restored Old Pavilion Stand.

India haven't won there since 1968 and New Zealand won't fear them, but it will be nervous times if the hosts bat first after the Australian experience.

Said Williamson: "If you can execute your plans on a surface that's providing assistance that's a challenge for anybody.

"And the pace and bounce you might get provides an opportunity for runscoring so there's a balance there. It's never a given even when the surface is green."