In the Central Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82, there were a number of 5 teams played against each other with a view to become one of the toppers in the zone. The teams included the likes of Railways, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Vidarbha and Madhya Pradesh and the teams were representing the Central region of India in the tournament. Getting a promotion to the knock out level of the tournament for competing with the top teams of the other zones was also one of the main aims of the teams. The teams like Railways and Uttar Pradesh became successful to achieve this aim and they entered into the knock out level after earning total points of 27 and 22, respectively, in the group level.

The Uttar Pradesh and Vidarbha teams started the procedures for the Central Zone, as they met with each other in the first of the Central Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82. The match was held at Pilhibit from 22-24 November, 1981 and the Uttar Pradesh team played very well in the match for clinching a victory of 8 wickets. The Uttar Pradesh team earned 8 valuable points from the match, as well. The teams of Vidarbha and Railways clashed with each other in the second match of the Central Zone and the match took place at Nagpur from 29 November-01 December, 1981. The Railways team earned the entire 9 points from the match, by winning it with a huge margin of an innings and 58 runs. The next match of the zone involved the teams like Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan and the teams played the match at Agra from 05-07 December, 1981. The winner of the match was the Uttar Pradesh team with a good margin of 7 wickets and earned 8 valuable points from it.

The Madhya Pradesh team then played against the Railways team in the fourth of the Central Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82 and the match was held at Bilaspur from 06-08 December, 1981. The match remained drawn during the stipulated period of time and the match officials awarded the Railways and Madhya Pradesh teams 5 and 3 points, respectively for the match. The Madhya Pradesh team appeared in the next match of the zone also and this time, it played against the Uttar Pradesh team at Jubbulpore from 11-13 December, 1981. The Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh teams earned 5 and 3 points, respectively from the drawn match. The next match of the zone was played between the teams of Railways and Rajasthan at New Delhi from 12-13 December, 1981. The Railways team earned 8 points from the match, by winning it with a very good margin of an innings and 14 runs.

The match between the teams of Vidarbha and Madhya Pradesh was the seventh of the Central Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82 and the match took place at Nagpur from 16-18 December, 1981. The drawn match saw the Madhya Pradesh team earning 5 points and Vidarbha earning 3 points from it. The next match of the zone saw a battle between the teams of Railways and Uttar Pradesh and the two teams played the match at New Delhi from 17-19 December, 1981. This match also remained drawn during the specified period of time and the Railways and Uttar Pradesh teams earned 5 and 3 points, respectively from it. The Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh teams then clashed with each other in the next match of the zone that was held at Bewar from 25-27 December, 1981. The match was won by the Rajasthan team with a margin of 9 wickets and the team earned 8 points from the match, as well. The last of the Central Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82 saw the Rajasthan team playing against the Vidarbha team at Khatrinagar from 29-31 December, 1981. The Rajasthan team finished the zonal level matches on a positive note, as it earned 8 points from this match, by winning it with a margin of 8 wickets.