Kohli king of ODIs after 200 matches

Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers … and daylight before the rest.

That's the state of play after 200 ODIs – a milestone Kohli reached in India's series opener against New Zealand in Mumbai on Sunday night, fittingly marking the occasion with another superb century, taking him past Ricky Ponting's mark of 30. Only Sachin Tendulkar, with 49 ODI hundreds, is now ahead of the current India skipper in terms of ODI centuries - and he's only 28.

A statistical analysis shows the India captain tops all comers in ODI history after 200 matches, his numbers surpassing even his fellow contemporary champion AB de Villiers, who returned to the format in spectacular fashion against Bangladesh last week with a career-best 176.

De Villiers previously boasted the best record at 200 ODI matches: 8,621 runs at an average of 54.56, with 24 hundreds.

After reaching 100 against the Black Caps in match No.200, Kohli's record read: 8,867 runs at 55.76, with 31 hundreds.

The two are the only players in ODI history to breach 8,000 ODI runs after 200 matches; next best is another former India skipper in Sourav Ganguly, who had made 7,747 runs at 43.03 with 18 hundreds at the same point in his career.

In a column for the BBC during the ICC Champions Trophy in June, de Villiers labelled Kohli "surely the outstanding cricketer in the world today".

"He is a consummate surgeon at the crease, intensely focused, working hard, playing the ball into gaps in the field and staying calm under pressure," he wrote.

"He is always judging the right time to consolidate and the right time to seize a game by the scruff of the neck.

"He has been blessed with wonderful natural talent but, as ever among high achievers, his talent is underpinned by a willingness to work hard.

"Unseen, he is determined and relentless in training, remaining in the nets as long as necessary to ensure he feels comfortable with every aspect of his game.

"I have watched him rehearse his strokes over and over again, until sweat is pouring from his brow, never stopping until he is satisfied."

And the respect between the pair is clearly mutual, with Kohli labelling de Villiers "the best batsman of his generation" in March before going more in-depth in June.

"He's by far the most committed cricketer I've ever seen around, and the reason for that is he is trying to do something extra for his team," Kohli said. "I know AB quite well, so I know the reason behind his mindset of playing like that.

"He can come out and when he's in the right frame of mind and it's his day and he's in the mood, then it doesn't matter what he has done in the past games or how many runs he has scored or not scored. If he decides to play the way only he can, you know you have to find a way to get him out pretty quickly."

Most runs after 200 ODIs

*Virat Kohli: 8,867 runs at 55.76, 31 x 100s

AB de Villiers: 8,621 runs at 54.56, 24 x 100s

Sourav Ganguly: 7,747 runs at 43.03, 18 x 100s

Desmond Haynes: 7,445 runs at 42.54, 8 x 100s

Brian Lara: 7,370 runs at 42.35, 13 x 100s

Sachin Tendulkar: 7,305 runs at 41.74, 18 x 100s

Chris Gayle: 7,290 runs at 40.27, 19 x 100s

Ricky Ponting: 7,255 runs at 42.42, 15 x 100s

*Kohli unbeaten on 100 in first ODI v NZ