All the 4 teams that had been participating in the tournament for the previous several editions on a regular basis were present there in the East Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82. The teams like Bengal, Orissa, Assam and Bihar were representing different states from the Eastern region of India and they tried their best to claim the top spot in the zone. However, with 18 and 15 points, respectively, the Bihar and Bengal teams became the toppers in the East Zone and they also got a promotion to the knock out level of the tournament. They competed against the top teams of the other zones in the knock out level, for the championship title.

The East Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82 was started with the match between the teams of Bihar and Assam at Bhagalpur from 05-07 December, 1981. The Bihar team won the match by a very good margin of an innings and 2 runs and also earned 8 valuable points from it. The second match of the zone was played between the teams of Bengal and Orissa and the match was held at Baripada from 05-07 December, 1981. The drawn match saw the Bengal and Orissa teams earning 5 and 3 points, respectively from it.

The teams of Orissa and Assam clashed with each other in the third of the East Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82 and the match took place at Sambalpur from 11-13 December, 1981. The Orissa team played wonderfully in the match and clinched a huge victory of 8 wickets for earning 8 valuable points from it. The two most powerful teams of the East Zone, Bengal and Bihar then locked their horns together in the next match of the zone and the match was organised at Jamshedpur from 11-13 December, 1981. The match officials awarded both the Bengal and Bihar teams 2 points each for the match, as it remained drawn during the stipulated duration.

The Bengal team appeared in the next match of the zone also and this time, it played against the Assam team at Krishnagar from 18-20 December, 1981. The Bengal team showed a very good performance in the match and clinched a huge victory of an innings and 18 runs in it. The Bengal team earned 8 valuable points from the match, as well. The last of the East Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82 saw a clash between the teams of Bihar and Orissa and the clash took place at Berhampur from 18-20 December, 1981. The Bihar team thrashed the Orissa team by a huge margin of an innings and 123 runs and earned 8 points from the match, as well.