Jamieson, New Zealand's tallest cricketer at 2.03 meters (6'8"), had 2-20 at lunch and captured the wicket of Hanuma Mihari in the second session as India went to tea at 122-5. Ajinkya Rahane was 38 not out and Rishabh Pant 10.
Jamieson used his height to extract difficult bounce on a pitch at the Basin Reserve which hardened during the day after being green and moist when the covers were lifted Friday after light overnight rain.
New Zealand won the toss and bowled, as captains have done 26 times in the last 30 tests in Wellington, and Jamieson was able to make good use of the conditions, also using fuller deliveries to take advantage of slight seam movement.
All three of his wickets, including the key wicket of India captain Virat Kohli (2), fell to catches behind the stumps.
His first victim in tests was Cheteshawar Punjara (11) who was forced to play at a full ball angled in on middle and off stumps which straightened, found the edge and carried to wicketkeeper B.J. Watling.
Jamieson's second was Kohli who pushed well forward to a wider delivery and was also undone when the ball nipped away slightly, took the outside edge and was caught by Ross Taylor at first slip. Taylor is playing his 100th test, becoming the fourth New Zealander after Stephen Fleming, Daniel Vettori and Brendon McCullum to achieve that milestone and the first to play 100 matches in all three formats.
Jamieson returned to dismiss Hanuma Vihari after lunch. Again a full delivery brought the batsman forward and the ball ducked away enough to find the edge and carry to Watling.
The pitch was slightly moist and slow at first, which made batting difficult. While the ball only seamed a little it was enough to demand batsmen use their feet and meet the ball with the full face.
Jamieson was also involved in the other wicket to fall between lunch and tea; he took a catch at fine leg to remove opener Mayank Agarwal from the bowling of Trent Boult.
A shorter ball from Boult rose on Agarwal's hip and the batsman flicked the ball from a top edge to Jamieson who pouched the catch in the deep. Agarwal batted through all of the first session and into the second, 2-1/2 hours in all, to make 34.
Rahane took over as the anchor of the innings and had batted 162 minutes by tea.
A strong wind at the Basin Reserve made conditions difficult for batsmen and bowlers and even Boult, New Zealand's leading fast bowler, took a turn bowling into the breeze.