South Africa captain Graeme Smith said his side will face a stern test from New Zealand in their ICC Champions Trophy opening main round day-night match in Mumbai on Monday.
"They are a very good one-day team: they bat a long way down, have a lot of options in the bowling department," Smith told reporters on Sunday.
"You really got to concentrate on all of them and make sure you don't take anybody for granted."
New Zealand have a good record in premier one-day tournaments and won the 2000 edition of the competition.
South Africa, ranked second behind world champions Australia, are eager to build on the momentum from defeating the Aussies 3-2 in a one-day series at home in March, clinching the decider by chasing down a record target of 435.
"We realise we are in a tough group and tomorrow's game is of crucial importance, I think, to get off to a good start," said left-handed opener Smith, who is returning after a 12-week ankle injury lay-off.
"In a tournament of this liking you know every game is important.
"You need to win two out of three [games] to get through. It's a very important day for us," Smith said.
South Africa and New Zealand are bunched with Pakistan and Sri Lanka in one half, with the top two teams progressing to the semi-finals.
"We had a pretty successful tour here a year ago, we had some really good moments on that trip," said Smith, referring to the one-day series they drew 2-2.
"Hopefully it [the tournament] starts on a good note."