The zonal system was introduced for the first time in the Ranji Trophy, 1957-58 and the Central Zone was one of the five zones of the tournament. The Zone mainly comprised the teams from the Central India. The teams like Vidarbha, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan were the teams that competed with each other under the Central Zone.

The first league match of the Central Zone was played between the teams of Vidarbha and Uttar Pradesh at Nagpur from 14-16 December, 1957. The match was declared as drawn by the officials and the Uttar Pradesh and Vidarbha teams got 5 and 3 points, respectively from the match. The second match of the Central Zone in the Ranji Trophy, 1957-58 saw a battle between the teams of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh at Indore from 20-22 December, 1957. This match was also a drawn match and the Uttar Pradesh got 6 points from each. The Madhya Pradesh team also got 3 points from the match. In the third match of the Central Zone, the teams of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh clashed with each other at Udaipur from 27-29 December, 1957. The drawn match saw the Rajasthan team getting 6 points and the Uttar Pradesh team getting 3 points from it.

The teams of Vidarbha and Madhya Pradesh met with each other in the fourth league match of the Central Zone in the Ranji Trophy, 1957-58 at Nagpur from 27-29 December, 1957. The match ended fruitlessly and the officials awarded 5 and 3 points to the Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha teams, respectively. The Rajasthan team then played against the Madhya Pradesh team in the fifth match of the Central Zone at Udaipur from 05-07 January, 1958. The drawn match saw the Rajasthan team getting 6 points and Madhya Pradesh getting 3 points from it. The last league match of the Central Zone involved the teams of Rajasthan and Vidarbha and the match was held at Udaipur from 09-11 January, 1958. This match also failed to produce any results and the Rajasthan team got 6 points from it. The Vidarbha team earned 3 points from the match.