Patience the key for Kiwis in India

Skipper Kane Williamson says it will take a different type of aggression from the Black Caps if they want to outplay India in the three-match ODI series.

The first game tees off in Mumbai late on Sunday, and Williamson says his team are going to need patience and good judgement in equal measure on Wankhede Stadium's batting-friendly surface.

A different approach to captaincy could also be called for, too, compared with New Zealand's more seamer-friendly conditions.

"Over here, it's a bit more spin friendly and sometimes the surfaces can be slower.

"To blast teams out can be unrealistic, and you have to skin it another way," Williamson said.

"It's important to adapt and sometimes play the long game, even in one-day cricket.

"If you can build pressure on some of those surfaces, then that can help you take wickets."

The New Zealanders will be test-driving a new opening partnership in Colin Munro and Martin Guptill while Tom Latham, who opened the batting in each of last year's five ODIs in India, will be propping up the middle order.

It will be tough test for Munro, who has has never opened in 57 matches across all formats in international cricket, but Williamson believes the new combination has plenty of potential: "They're two good ball-strikers, and exciting top-order players."

First and foremost, the Black Caps are looking for more consistency than they showed in last season's 3-2 ODI series defeat, when they were crushed by 190 runs in the series-deciding finale.

"They're a very hard team to beat - we know that at home in particular, they'd be the strongest team in the world," Williamson said.

"There's no illusions. We need to come out and play our best cricket."