The top two teams from each of the five zones got promoted to the knock out level of the Ranji Trophy, 1979-80 and the teams included the likes of Bengal, Hyderabad, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Bombay, Bengal, Delhi, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. The teams played against each other in the Pre-Quarter-Finals, Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Final match of the tournament and all of them tried their best to win the championship title. However, the Delhi team became successful to win the championship trophy for the consecutive second year.

The knock out matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1979-80 started with the clash between the teams of Bengal and Hyderabad, as the teams appeared in the first Pre-Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 1979-80. The match was held at Calcutta from 29 February-03 March, 1980 and it remained drawn during the stipulated duration. However, the match officials allowed the Bengal team to advance to the Quarterfinal stage of the tournament. The second Pre-Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 1979-80 saw a clash between the teams of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana at Kanpur from 29 February-03 March 1980. The Haryana team won the match with a good margin of 7 wickets and got an entry to the Quarterfinal stage of the tournament.

There was a clash between the teams of Bihar and Bombay in the first Quarterfinal match of the Ranji Trophy, 1979-80 and the match took place at Jamshedpur from 14-17 March 1980. Though the match remained drawn during the specified duration of time, the Bombay team was allowed to get into the Semi-Final stage of the tournament. The teams of Bengal and Delhi played against each other in the second Quarterfinal match of the Ranji Trophy, 1979-80 at Calcutta from 14-17 March, 1980. The match saw the Delhi team winning by 66 runs and also getting the permission to enter the Semi-Finals of the tournament. The third Quarterfinal match of the Ranji Trophy, 1979-80 was played between the teams of Rajasthan and Maharashtra at Jaipur from 14-17 march, 1980. The drawn match saw the Maharashtra team getting the permission to play in the Semi-Final stage of the tournament. The last and fourth Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 1979-80 involved the teams like Karnataka and Haryana and the match took place at Bangalore from 14-17 March, 1980. The Haryana team entered into the Semi-Finals of the tournament, by winning this match with a margin of 5 wickets.

The first Semi-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 1979-80 was played between the teams of Delhi and Maharashtra at Delhi from 28-31 March, 1980. The Delhi team outplayed the Maharashtra team in the match to clinch a victory of 114 runs and also to get an entry into the Final of the tournament. The teams of Haryana and Bombay clashed with each other in the second Semi-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 1979-80 that was held at Rohtak from 28-31 March, 1980. The match saw the Bombay team clinching a victory of 114 runs and also setting up a clash with the Delhi team in the Final of the tournament. Thus, the teams of Delhi and Bombay locked their horns together in the Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 1979-80 and the match was organised at Delhi from 11-16 April 1980. The Delhi team dominated the Bombay team throughout the Final match and eventually clinched a victory of 240 runs for claiming the championship title for the second consecutive time.