A waterlogged outfield prevented a single ball being bowled on the opening day at Westpac Park.

Umpires Daryl Harper and Asoka de Silva abandoned play following three inspections.

It is the fifth time a full day's play has been lost in 11 Tests in Hamilton.

The first two days were washed out last December when New Zealand took on Test newcomers Bangladesh, but they still managed to win by an innings and 52 runs.

And any further delays would increase their chances of wrapping up the series against India, having scored a 10-wicket victory in the opening game at Wellington.

An extra hour's play has been scheduled for each of the four remaining days, with 105 overs due to be bowled in each.

India, meanwhile, are planning to appoint a specialist bowling coach ahead of February's World Cup in South Africa.

Among the names mentioned are former South African Test players Fanie de Villiers and Craig Matthews, and ex-Australian swing bowler Terry Alderman.

"We are considering names and should finalise the person in a week," said Karunakaran Nair, secretaryo for the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Nathan Astle, Shane Bond, Robbie Hart, Craig McMillan, Jacob Oram, Mark Richardson, Scott Styris, Daryl Tuffey, Daniel Vettori, Lou Vincent.

India (from): Sourav Ganguly (captain), Virender Sehwag, Sanjay Bangar, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Parthiv Patel, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Murali Kartik, Mohammad Kaif, SS Das, Ajay Ratra, Tinu Yohannan.