The East Zone in the Ranji Trophy, 1977-78 saw no change in its team list, as all the regular four teams took part in this edition of the tournament. The teams included the likes of Assam, Orissa, Bengal and Bihar and they tried their best to secure a birth in the knock out level of the tournament by becoming one of the top two teams in the zone. However, the regular toppers of the zone, the Bengal and Bihar teams once again became the toppers in this edition and they also got the chance to compete against the top teams of the other zones in the knock out level of the tournament.
The teams of Orissa and Assam appeared in the first of the East Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1977-78 and the match was held at Rourkela from 10-12 December, 1977. The match officials awarded the Orissa and Assam teams 5 and 3 points, respectively for the match, as it remained drawn during the specified period of time. The second match of the zone saw a clash between the teams of Orissa and Bengal at Sambalpur from 16-18 December, 1977. The Bengal team crushed the Orissa team by a huge margin of an innings and 86 runs in the match for earning 8 points and also for getting a wonderful start in the tournament.
The third of the East Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1977-78 involved the teams like Bihar and Assam and the two teams played the match at Dhanbad from 16-18 December, 1977. The Bihar team played wonderfully in the match and clinched a huge victory of 10 wickets for earning 8 points from it. The Bengal and Assam teams then clashed with each other in the next match of the zone and the match was held at Calcutta from 21-23 December, 1977. The Bengal team showed a very good performance in the match and beat the Assam team by a huge margin of an innings and 114 runs for earning 8 valuable points from it.
The match between the teams of Bihar and Orissa was the next match of the East Zone and the two teams played the match at Baripada from 22-24 December, 1977. The Bihar team won the match quite comprehensively with a huge margin of 119 runs and it earned 8 points form the match, as well. The two moist powerful teams of the East Zone, Bengal and Bihar then clashed with each other in the last of the East Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1977-78 and the match took place at Jamshedpur from 14-16 January, 1978. The match went on to be a drawn on during the stipulated duration and the Bengal and Bihar teams earned 5 and 3 points, respectively from the match.
