After the completion of the league matches in all the five zones of the tournament, the top two teams from each of the zones got an entry into the knock out level of the Ranji Trophy, 1978-79. A total of 10 teams played against each other in the knock out matches of the Ranji Trophy, 1978-79 and the teams included the likes of Bombay, Bengal, Bihar, Haryana, Baroda, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The teams competed in the Pre-Quarter-Finals, Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Final match of the tournament. The tournament saw the Delhi team eventually becoming successful to win the championship title, after a long gap.

The teams of Bombay and Bihar played against each other in the first Pre-Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 1978-79. The match was held at Bombay from 11-14 February, 1979 and it saw the Bombay team winning by a margin of an innings and 113 runs for getting the permission to enter into the Quarter-Final stage of the tournament. The second Pre-Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 1978-79 was played between the teams of Bengal and Haryana and the match took place at Calcutta from 12-15 February, 1979. The Bengal team played very well in the match and clinched a victory of 6 wickets for reaching the Quarter-Final stage of the tournament.

There was a clash between the teams of Baroda and Madhya Pradesh in the first Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 1978-79 and the two teams played the match at Baroda from 24-27 February, 1979. The Baroda team got a promotion to the Semi-Final stage of the tournament by winning this match with a margin of an innings and 3 runs. The teams of Bombay and Uttar Pradesh met with each other in the second Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 1978-79. The match was held at Bombay from 24-27 February, 1979 and it saw the Bombay team winning by a huge margin of an innings and 246 runs for entering into the Semi-Finals of the tournament. The third Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 1978-79 saw a clash between the teams of Delhi and Tamil Nadu at Delhi from 24-27 February, 1979. The Delhi team showed a very good performance in the match and clinched a victory of 5 wickets for booking a birth in the Semi-Final stage of the tournament. The last and fourth Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 1978-79 involved the teams like Karnataka and Bengal and the two teams played the match at Bangalore from 24-27 February, 1979. The Karnataka team reached the Semi-Final stage of the tournament by clinching a victory of 236 runs in the match.

The teams of Bombay and Delhi clashed with each other in the first Semi-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 1978-79 and the two teams played the match at Bombay from 08-11 March, 1979. Though, the match remained drawn during the stipulated duration, the match officials decided to allow the Delhi team advancing to the Final of the tournament. The second Semi-Final of the Ranji Trophy, 1978-79 was played between the teams of Karnataka and Baroda at Bangalore from 09-12 March, 1979. The Karnataka team played very well in the match and beat the Baroda team by an innings and 23 runs for setting up a clash with the Delhi team in the Final of the tournament. Thus, the line-up of the Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 1978-79 was Delhi Vs Karnataka and the match was organised at Bangalore from 24-29 March, 1979. The Delhi team dominated the Karnataka team throughout the Final match of the tournament and eventually clinched a huge victory of 399 runs for claiming the championship title of the Ranji Trophy, 1978-79.