TNPL 2016: Top 5 performers of the week 1 (August 24-31)

It might just be a week into the inaugural Tamil Nadu Premier League but we have already witnessed plenty of amazing performances. The first fifty and hundred of the tournament was achieved in the first two games and just the third game was tied and a super over was required.

The longer the tournament has gone on the more impressive the performances became. With a fifty, century, totals of nearly 200 and under 100 and a hat-trick all inside the first week of the tournament, there plenty of players to choose form for the top performers of the week.

Here are 5 players that stand out after week 1 of the tournament:

Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik might be playing in the Duleep Trophy at the moment but he made his mark on the Tamil Nadu Premier League 2016 in the opening game itself. In the clash between Albert TUTI Patriots and Chepauk Super Gillies, the Patriots captain scripted history by becoming the first batsman to score a fifty in the tournament.

Coming in with his side at 37/1 in the fifth over, Karthik delivered a captain's knock as he finished unbeaten on 67 and helped his side finish on 164/5 in their 20 overs. His knock included three fours and four sixes and got the tournament off to a great start in Chepauk. The captain's absence was clearly felt as the Patriots lost the second game after winning the first one comfortably.

W Antony Dhas

Wenseslaus Antony Dhas might not be a name that many, outside those who follow Tamil Nadu cricket, might have heard of but he has had a fantastic start to the inaugural Tamil Nadu Premier League. A regular in the Tamil Nadu limited-overs side, Antony Dhas already has more wickets than anyone else in the tournament.

Even in the opening game of the tournament against Albert TUTI Patriots, he was economical and was unlucky not to bowl out his quota of overs for the Chepauk Super Gillies. But in the second match, he showed what he was all about as he not only scored a quickfire 18 with the bat but also picked up four wickets in his three overs.

The 27-year-old was on fire in the game against Karaikudi Kaalai as he finished with figures of 3-0-9-4 and helped his side claim their first win of the tournament. The medium pacer will be hoping to continue his good start further into the tournament.

N Jagadeesan

One of the many reasons why Dindigul Dragons have won both games are sitting at the top of the Tamil Nadu Premier League table after two games has been the form of wicketkeeper N Jagadeesan. The opener has got the Dragons off to good start in both matches and set the platform for the rest of the batsman.

What makes his performances which have already earned him back-to-back Man of the Match performances all the more impressive is the fact that he was a fast bowler to begin and only switched to being a keeper because of his action.

Dhoni might be his role model but unlike the Indian limited-overs skipper, he opens the batting and has scored a fifty and 44 in his two innings and has more runs in the tournament among all batsmen barring one. If the Dragons are to win the Tamil Nadu Premier League, they will be hoping that the keeper continues his great start to the tournament.

MK Siva Kumar

It only took 8 matches for the Tamil Nadu Premier League to witness the first hat-trick of the tournament and MK Siva Kumar of Lyca Kovai Kings provided it to help his side claim their first win of the tournament. The medium pacer derailed the Albert Tuti Patriots batting after they won the toss and elected to bat.

After K Vignesh opened the floodgates in the fifth over, Patriots continued to lose wickets at crucial intervals. Yet, when Siva Kumar came in to bowl his third over, Patriots were 82/4 in 17 overs and looked on course to finish with a total in excess of 100 at the very least. But that then Siva Kumar dismissed Maaruthi Raghav, Washington Sundar and Akash Sumra in consecutive balls to pick up his first hat-trick.

While Maaruthi perished trying to go big, it was the slower ball that saw Washington go back to the pavilion. And although he didn't know it was the hat-trick ball, the medium pacer came up with the perfect yorker to claim the wicket Akash and get his hat-trick. He eventually finished with figures of 3.5-0-10-3 and bowl out Patriots for 95 and help the Kovai Kings win by nine wickets.

Baba Aparajith

Tamil Nadu Premier League 2016 got off to the perfect start thanks to a fifty in the first match of the tournament but in just the second game, the first hundred was also achieved. This time, it was VB Thiruvallur Veerans captain in their opening game against Karaikudi Kaalai.

Chasing 166 for victory, the captain walked in to the crease at 0/1 in just the third ball of the innings. With wickets falling around him, not only did Aparajith need to factor in the run rate for the chase but also think about what might happen if he got out.

Considering all of this, he still managed to score the tournament's first century and eventually finish the game for his side with an unbeaten 118 off just 63 balls. The knock included 12 boundaries and six sixes. What makes his innings all the more impressive was that only other batsman in the side managed to get into double digits and they still chased 166.