That wraps up the auction action! The new commers - Pune and Gujarat - seem to have been the winners of the day. Delhi and Bangalore seemed to be in a very generous mood today, while the others came in with a plan and seemed to have executed it to the mark. In summary, most of the teams seem to have a well-rounded squad, and IPL 2016 promises to be a closely fought tournament.

5:53 PM: Akhil Herwadkar will play for DD for 0.1 crore.

Meanwhile, as Pune signed Dinda for 0.5 crore...

Looks like the phone call to Pune worked...https://t.co/ONItV8bfgu

— Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) February 6, 2016

5:33 PM: Amit Mishra finally finds a buyer, and he will play for the Rising Pune Super Giants for 0.1 crore.

5:27 PM: Pragyan Ojha remains UNSOLD.

5:13 PM: Krunal Pandya becomes the new crorepati, as Mumbai Indians buy him for 2 crores. Who is he you ask? He is the elder brother of Hardik Pandya and plays for Baroda. Family celebrations are in order.

5:10 PM: Another relatively unknown name KP Kamath, fetches 1.4 crore from Mumbai Indians.

4:52 PM: Thisara Perera joins Pune for 1 crore, while Ben Cutting has signed for Hyderabad for 0.5 crore.

4:50 PM: Jason Holder, captain of West Indies, has started a bidding war between Delhi and KKR, and eventually joined the Knight Riders for 0.7 crore.

4:42 PM: Peter Handscomb joins Rising Pune Super Giants for 0.3 crore, and that completes their quota of 16 players

4:41 PM: Gujarat Lions continue their spending as they land Umang Sharma for 0.1 crore

4:39 PM: T Suman SOLD to Sunrisers Hyderabad for 0.1 crore.

4:37 PM: Delhi Daredevils make the opening bid for Sam Billings at 0.3 crore, and it turned out to be the closing bid as well.

4:33 PM: Martin Guptill remains UNSOLD. "It can be very expensive...he would be very happy though," says Madley while auctioning Hashim Amla. No one fell for it though, he too remains UNSOLD.

4:31 PM: Gujarat Lions have bid for Aaron Finch, and do not have any competitor. Finch sold to the Lions for 1 crore.

4:11 PM: The last segment of the auction will be the accelerated phase, and it cannot start fast enough, especially with Navjot Sidhu talking about skeletons and meat.

Meanwhile, have a look at what the Twitterati had to say on the auction here

3:33 PM: KC Cariappa, the Murugan Ashwin of last year, failed to match his performance in last year's auction, and goes for 0.8 cr to KXIP.

3:27 PM: 10, 15, 20, 25.........90, 95.....300, 320, 350, 400, 450. Leg spinner Murugan Ashwin. Six T20 matches for Tamil Nadu. 10 wickets. And now sold to Pune for 4.5 cr! Famous for his googlies, Ashwin has turned out to be the googly of the day. He is the KC Cariappa of this year.

Being the new teams, Pune and Gujarat are the only two teams left to complete their quota of 16 players. Pune need 3, while Gujarat need 1 more.

3:19 PM: Ankit Rajput sold to KKR for 1.5 crore.

3:08 PM: Rajasthan fast bowler Nathu Singh, touted to be the next big thing, has initiated a tug-of-war between Delhi and RCB. Totally off-topic: Vijay Mallya still uses a stylus to operate his mobile. Delhi pull out of the race at 3 crores, and suddenly Mumbai Indians jump in to outbid RCB at 3.2 crores.

3:01 PM: Rajat Bhatia was picked up by the Rising Pune Super Giants for 0.5 crore.

2:56 PM: Pawan Negi is up next. He just made it to the T20 WC squad yesterday, and it is turning out to be the best week in his life! From a base price of 30 lakhs, Delhi Daredevils broke the bank to sign him for 8.5 crores! A round of applause goes around the room!

2:47 PM: And on to the uncapped all-rounders. Iqbal Abdulla opens proceedings going to RCB for 10 lakhs.

2:46 PM: Manvinder Bisla goes unsold and that closes the set of uncapped wicketkeeper-batsmen.

2:37 PM: Eklavya Dwivedi is on the table now, with Gujarat Lions and Sunrisers Hyderabad competing for him. Gujarat Lions sign him for 1 crore.

2:32 PM: Next up - Rishabh Pant, the wonderkid who made the headlines with the fastest U-19 50 from just 18 balls against Nepal in the WC. He looks well on his way to break a record as well as RCB and MI are battle hard for him. Out of no where, Delhi pick him up with their opening bid of 1.9 crores.

2:27 PM: Paras Dogra SOLD to Gujarat for 10 lakhs.

2:20 PM: The teams are in no nurry to finish this bidding war. But eventually Delhi Daredevils sign Karun Nair for 4 crores - 40 times more than his base price!

2:16 PM: The auction has resumed, with uncapped batsmen! The first players to go under the hammer is Sachin Baby, RCB gets him for 10 lakhs. His name itself is worth half that! Imagine having Sachin in your ranks.

2:12 PM: Delhi Daredevils and the Sunrisers Hyderabad have been the biggest spenders so far in the auction, while at the other end of the spectrum Kolkata Knight Riders have spent just 3.2 crores. Royal Challengers Bangalore splashed the cash on Shane Watson, who has been the highest earner so far.

1:04 PM: A period of lull right now, everyone seems to be waiting eagerly for lunch. And Lunch it is, and maybe a quick nap after that.

12:52 PM: Shaun Tait, the Australian quick, makes a quick entry, quicker exit. UNSOLD. He must be hating Dhawan right now, for that 24-run over.

12:46 PM: The lady with the bag, looked bored out of her mind. Same is the case with the ladies on the table.

12:43 PM: Dean Elgar, Farhann Behardien, Nathan McCullum, V Philandar, Juan Theron, Johan Botha and Jeevan Mendis remain UNSOLD. Seems naming your kids S Jayasuriya does not guarantee cricketing glory, he remains UNSOLD.

12:39 PM: Beuran Hendricks, Richar Levi UNSOLD. Cameron White UNSOLD. Tamim Iqbal UNSOLD as well. Marlon Samuels also remains UNSOLD.

12:38 PM: Set number 10, and we are back to the batsmen. L Thirimanne is the first name, and he is UNSOLD.

12:35 PM: Sunrisers are going for a starting eleven of fast bowler, they have now added A Mithun for 0.3 crore.

12:30 PM: Barinder Sran, who took five wickets against Assam in Ranji yesterday, gets a late start but it is picking up now. Gujarat Lions and Sunrisers Hyderabad have pushed up his pricce to 1 crore. The Gujarat table also seem to have a doppelganger of Sran, but the Sunrisers land their man for 1.2 crores. Sunrisers' fascination with left arm quicks continues, as they add a fourth to their rank.

12:22 PM: Jaydev Unadkat, elicits some interest after taking 9 wickets against Saurashtra in Ranji yesterday, and his former team KKR are determined to bring him back. Sunrisers are fighting for him as well, as the bid rises to 1.6 crores. KKR, eventually, gets him. Welcome back.

12:20 PM: Mustafizur Rahman, the guy who destroyed India in the ODI series with 13 wickets, draws a lot of interest. RCB grabs him for 1.4 crores. #AtithiDevoBhava

12:16 PM: Marcus Stoinis is up for grabs, and Stephen Fleming from Pune makes it 0.5 crores, Preity Zinta over-rules with a 0.55 crore bid, and he is SOLD.

12:15 PM: James Neesham UNSOLD. The Auctioneer wants "50 please" for Sean Abbott, but no one obliges.

12:09 PM: C Brathwaite is in the house, and suddenly the auction comes back to life. DD and KKR are going hammer and tongs for the West Indies right handed batsman and right arm bowler. Crosses the 3 crores mark now. His base price was just 0.3 crores, and he has already beaten Praveen Kumar's hike of 600%. He has taken 33 wickets in 36 matches, and his batting strike rate is 137.66 in T20s for West Indies. His only claim to fame was the 69 impressive runs he scored against Australia in the Sydney Test. DD bring him home for 4.2 crores. April will tell if he was worth it.

12:06 PM: Andrew Tye, from set 8, UNSOLD. Doug Bracewell of New Zealand goes UNSOLD. Chris Jordan of England, remains UNSOLD. And so does Wayne Parnell.

12:05 PM: Abhinav Mukund UNSOLD, and we move on to the all-rounders again.

12:00 PM: The auction resumes, and we are back to the batsmen. The first name out of the bag, is Australian Joe Burns, for a base price of 1 crore. UNSOLD.

11:42 AM: Pragyan Ojha UNSOLD

11:39 AM: Michael Beer from Australia UNSOLD. Sorry mate - no firangee beer, only Make in India. #GoMallya

11:36 AM: Sachithra Senanayake goes UNSOLD, after the auctioneer got his name right on his third attempt. V Perumal remains UNSOLD as well. Even Nathan Lyon receives no bid, for now. Davendra Bishoo meets similar fate.

11:30 AM: Mohit Sharma has a base price of 1.5 crore, and KKR and Kings XI are going hard at each other for him. From 1.5 to 4.5 crores - that was faster than what Mohit Sharma ever bowled. Sunrisers jump in with a bid of 5 crores. Certainly these three teams know something about him, that the Indian team selectors don't. Mohit Sharma sold to KXIP for a staggering 6.5 crores!

11:29 AM: Ashok Dinda goes under the hammer. Auctioneer looking for an opening bid, but no one responds. UNSOLD.

11:20 AM: Praveen Kumar is up for grabs, and Gujarat Lions and KKR are engaged in a east v west battle. Lions are determined to spoil everyone's party it seems, Lions up the bid to 1.4 crores. The Gujarat contingent gets on a call, looks like he has a go ahead from whoever they were calling. KKR are not stepping back as well. Bid up to 2.8 crores now. Eventually sold for 3.5 crore to Gujarat Lions, this is the highest jump (600%) so far.

11:19 AM: John Hastings, the Australian quick, receives a hastly bid from Pune, before KKR steps in at 1.3 crores. Pune pulls out, and he goes to KKR for 1.3 crores. Handshakes all around, and interestingly, Gambhir is the only captain who is attending the auction.

11:15 AM: We are into the fast bowler segment, and the first name out of the bag is Dhawal Kulkarni, at a base price of 2 crores. After a delay, Gujarat Lions open the bidding, and they manage to land him at the base price.

11.13 AM: Thisara Perera is the last all-rounder of this particular segment, and he remains UNSOLD.

11:09 AM: Darren Sammy remains UNSOLD.

11:07 AM: All you kids out there, take your cricket seriously! Stuart Binny has a base price of 2 crores. And he even has a bidder, unsuprisingly it is RCB. SOLD to Royal Challengers for 2 crore.

Meanwhile..

WATCH: When @YUVSTRONG12 went under the hammer, he created quite a wave. He was sold to @SunRisers #IPLAuctionhttps://t.co/uKvtc0mcHV

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) February 6, 2016

11:00 AM: Chris Morris is at the middle of a bidding war between KKR and MI. Goes from 0.5 crore to 3 crores in no time at all. The Auctioneer took a short breath sometime around 2.1 crores. 4.2, 4.5 4.8, 5, 5.5, 6 crores - this mind blowing! A new horse enters the race, Delhi, just after KKR pulls out, at 7 crores! And DD are the winners, they bag Morris for a staggering 7 crores.

10:57 AM: Ravi Bopara remains unsold. Sri Lankan all-rounder T Dilshan is on the table, at a base price of 1.5 crores, and he remains UNSOLD. Jason Holder Joins them on the bench as well.

10:54 AM: We are into the all-rounders segment, and Manoj Tiwary is first name out of the hat, but he fails to get a bidder. UNSOLD.

10:53 AM: Bancroft remains UNSOLD. And that concludes the wicketkeeper segment.

10:46 AM: Veteran Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, who had a base price of 1.5 crores, ramined UNSOLD. South African wicket keeper Morne van WYK joins him in the UNSOLD club. Sam Billings follows suit. Ben Dunk is up next, and he meets similar fate.

10:45 AM: Player number 24, Mushfiqur Rahim, as expected remains UNSOLD. And so does, Johnson Charles of West Indies.

10:40 AM: Shane Dowrich, the young West Indies wicketkeeper, goes UNSOLD.

10:35 AM: Young wicket-keeper Sanju Samson, touted as the long-term replacement for MS Dhoni, has brought up a bidding war between the Delhi Daredevils and Gujarat Lions. Base price: 2.3 crores. The 21-year-old has had an underwhelming season though, yet the bidders seem undeterred. Currently the bid is with Delhi for 4.2 crores. Big meeting going on thee Gujarat table, and they have decided to not pursue him any further. SOLD to Delhi Daredevils for 4.2 crores.

10:31 AM: Michael Hussey has a base price of 2 crores, but none seem to be interested. UNSOLD.

10:30 AM: Sri Lankan legend Mahela Jayawardena is up next, for a base price of 1.5 crores. UNSOLD.

10:28 AM: Hasim Amla also goes UNSOLD, and so is George Bailey.

10:27 AM: Pujara is the next man on the table, with a base price of 0.5 crore. Seems like, despite his self-professing of T20 competencies yesterday, no one is convinced. UNSOLD.

End of an exciting marquee auction session, and two of the nine players remained unsold. Yuvraj Singh, as expected, went for a whopping 7 crores, but it was Shane Watson who stole the show by bagging 9.5 crores from the Royal Challengers. RCB as usual have burned out early on in the game.

10:06 AM: Speedster Dale Steyn is in the house, and Super Giants have made their move for the South African. Gujarat Lions and Royal Challengers have also joined the battle. SOLD to Gujarat Lions for 2.3 crores. What a bargain!

10:00 AM: Bang on the clock as usual! The most awaited player, Yuvraj Singh, goes under the hammer now. Base price: Rs 2 crore. Surprise, suprise, he is yet to get a bidder. After half a minute of uncomfortable silence, the Mumbai Indians open bidding. And now, Royal Challengers have joined the race at Rs 2.1 crore. The pace has picked up now, and it's a tight two-horse race. It is upto Rs 4.2 crore now.

9:55 AM: Ashish Nehra at base price of Rs 2 crore is on the table. The old fox seems to have generated interest amid King's XI and Gujarat. Sunrisers Hyderabad have entered the race, and currently hold the bid at Rs 480 lakh, after mulling it over some morning tea. Pretty Zinta hits the 500 mark for him. Sunrisers up the anti with a bid of Rs 550 lakh. SOLD to Sunrisers Hyderabad at Rs 5.5 crore.

9:53 AM: WAIT A Minute! Kolkata have challenged Watson's sale, however, the auctioneer has overruled in favour of Bangalore. Watson coming to namma Bengaluru.

9:49 AM: Shane Watson goes under the hammer, there seems to be a long queue for his signature. A brief lull at Rs 4.8 crore, and in three quick jumps the price goes to Rs 8 crore. Vijay Mallya seems to have selective amnesia about his financial trouble, he is going in hard for the Australia. Finally he beats all competition to sign him for a whopping Rs 9.5 crore.

ये इशांत फ्री में मंहगा है यार#IPLAuction

— Wittu. #FANta (@The_Witty_SRK) February 6, 2016

Dwayne Smith sold to @TheGujaratLions for INR 230 lacs #IPLauction

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) February 6, 2016

. @KP24 goes to @RPSupergiants for INR 350 lacs #IPLAuction

— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) February 6, 2016

9:33 AM: Richard Madley, the auctioneer is in the house ladies and gentleman, along with his hammer.

The auction starts at 9:30 AM IST, till which time you can get up to speed on what to expect, and what not to expect, from the auction.

It’s that time of the season again. The time, when we sit in front of the TV with bated breath for that fall of the hammer, that time when the nation suddenly turns T20 experts, that time when we rip apart and analyze every single buy, that time when we assess who is going to end up where – this time, with no CSK, we actually get to predict the second finalist for once! . Ahead of the ninth IPL auction on Sunday, let’s look at the possible scenarios for the eight franchises.

A total of 351 players will go under the hammer on Saturday in Bengaluru with at least two-thirds of the players expected to go unsold. With the squad size fixed to a minimum of 16 and maximum of 27, we can expect a lot of surprises and shocks, which have been a tradition in IPL auctions.

So let’s look at the nine marquee players, who are expected to fetch the highest bid in the auction.

Another contender for the highest bid will be the Australian Shane Watson. Similar to Yuvraj, the Australian, who had looked awfully out of form in the first two T20s, made a brilliant hundred in the third T20I to make a case for himself. Kevin Pietersen has been away from International cricket for sometime, but his BigBash performances are certain to catch the eye of the IPL scouts and will expect a huge bid coming his way. The dark horses to fetch the highest bid among the marquee players are Aaron Finch and Martin Guptill. The dangerous openers will be an asset to any team, which is willing to take a bet on them.

Moving on to the franchisees and the possible targets for each of them.

The team from Delhi has the highest purse in the auction after retaining only 13 players from the last season. With a purse of Rs. 37.15 crores, they are likely to go for middle order batsmen as the bowling line-up looking fairly strong.

Possible Buys: Shane Watson and Aaron Finch

The Hyderabad team has the second biggest purse with Rs. 30.15 crore and will be expected to bid big for middle order batsmen and Indian batsmen after struggling in the department last year.

Possible Buys: Sanju Samson and Travis Head

The new entrants have Suresh Raina as captain and Brad Hodge as the coach. With Dwayne Bravo, Ravindra Jadeja, James Faulkner and Brendon McCullum already in their ranks, the team has a strong core of perfect T20 players. With Rs. 27 crores in the bank, Gujarat could make two more big signings before going for squad players.

Possible Buys: Ashish Nehra and Yuvraj Singh

4. Rising Pune Supergiants

With MS Dhoni and Stephen Fleming at the helm, the franchise could go in for ex-CSK players to build up a good squad for the upcoming tournament. Batting seems to be the strength of Pune with Dhoni, Steve Smith, Faf du Plessis and Rahane in the team, and they could go for fast bowlers and all-rounders to make a balanced squad with Rs.27 crore in the purse.

5. Kings XI Punjab

After releasing George Bailey, the Punjab team could be in for a captain and could go for Kevin Pietersen in a bid to bring an experienced hand. With Rs. 23 crore in hand, an Indian fast bowler will also be in mind for the team, and they could go for local player Barinder Sran.

(Also Read: DRS likely to make an appearance in IPL)

6. Royal Challengers Bangalore

Possible Buys: Pawan Negi and Irfan Pathan

7. Kolkata Knight Riders

Possible Buys: Mohit Sharma, Jos Butler and John Hastings

8. Mumbai Indians

Possible Buys: Dhawal Kulkarni and Kane Richardson

If we look at the history of the IPL auctions, then there has been one unknown player every year, whose price goes through the roof. Tomorrow should tell us who the dark horse is.

(Also Read: From IPL to PWL: A country of Leagues)