Saturday marks the beginning of the Bay Oval's greatest starring moment to date on the world cricketing stage, as a hat-trick of high-profile One Day Internationals roll out over the next four days.

Kane Williamson's Blackcaps are basking in the bulk of the limelight, as they continue their series against the Virat Kohli-lead Indian men's team tomorrow and Monday. Then it's the White Ferns' turn to catch the eye of Bay of Plenty sports nuts on Tuesday.

The New Zealand Women are taking on their Indian counterparts in the second of their three-match ODI series, and like the men are playing under the venue's state-of-the-art floodlights to maximise the huge TV audience back on the subcontinent.

It'll also give locals the chance to pop along for a bit of sundown cricket if they can't get off work early.

Picking a winner on Tuesday, just like in the two men's encounters, is no easy task.

Though they've had little chance to make themselves at home in New Zealand conditions, a team containing global icons of the women's game, such as Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Mithali Raj, will always be a handful.

But the White Ferns, with stars of their own like former captain Suzie Bates, Sophie Devine and teenage prodigy Amelia Kerr, might quietly fancy their chances of balancing up their ledger at the Bay Oval, where they've won just three of the eight ODIs they've played.

All of those eight matches have been against powerhouses Australia and England, ranked one and two in the world. Ranked at number three, just above the Kiwis, India will bring a competitive game but perhaps not quite the same aura as the top two.

They will also bring a sizeable quota of colourful crowd support. As the Bay Oval's matches in the ICC Under-19 World Cup last year showed, Indian teams always do.

In fact, some predictions suggest Indian supporters may even outnumber Blackcaps followers for both matches. But Bay Oval and New Zealand Cricket's top brass won't be too upset if that proves to be the case, as it would mean they'd have bumper crowds on their hands.

Having restored their winning record at the Bay Oval with two free-scoring victories over Sri Lanka earlier this month, and following the loss to England in February last year, the Blackcaps will be keen to turn the ground, based in the city that so many of their players call home, into something of a fortress.

The Indians come here with their first ever test and ODI series wins on Australian soil under their belts, and boast the world's top two ranked ODI batsmen in Kohli and Rohit Sharma. But they themselves admit that right now, New Zealand are on a different level from the Aussies.

They'll be hard-fought if they happen, but a couple more ticks in the W column for the Men in Black wouldn't be a major surprise.

Kane Williamson's 76 in the first Sri Lanka ODI this month is his highest international score on his home ground, having played in just three of the six 50-over matches played here, and all six of the T20Is.

He'll have more important captaincy matters on his mind throughout the two matches, but there's no doubt knocking out his maiden international century on home soil would be as sweet a moment for him as for his passionate Bay Oval followers.