The North Zone in the Ranji Trophy, 1987-88 was comprised of 6 teams, all coming from the Northern region of India. All the teams had been participating in the tournament on a regular basis for the previous few years and they included the likes of Jammu & Kashmir, Services, Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. The teams gave their best efforts for claiming the top spot in the zone by beating all the other teams in the zone and they also tried hard for securing a birth in the knock out level of the tournament. However, only the teams like Delhi and Punjab could eventually do so from the zone, as they earned total of 83 and 69 points, respectively from the zonal level league matches.

The first of the North Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 19987-88 was played between the teams of Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh and the match was held at Srinagar from 06-08 October, 1987. The Jammu & Kashmir team played very well in the match and won it with a wonderful margin of an innings and 74 runs for earning 21 points from it. The Himachal Pradesh team also earned 2 points from the match. The teams of Jammu & Kashmir and Services played against each other in the second match of the zone and the match took place at Delhi from 14-16 November, 1987. The match remained drawn during the specified period of time and the match officials awarded both the Services and Jammu & Kashmir teams 13 points, each for the match. The third match of the zone saw a clash between the teams of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh and the two teams played the match at Amritsar from 14-16 November, 1987. The winner of the match was the Punjab team with a margin of an innings and 156 runs and the Punjab and Himachal Pradesh teams earned 22 and 2 points, respectively from the match.

The match between the teams of Jammu & Kashmir and Delhi was the fourth of the North Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1987-88 and the match took place at Mohan Nagar from 18-20 November, 1987. The Delhi team played very well in the match for clinching a victory of an innings and 58 runs and also for earning 21 points and the Jammu & Kashmir team also earned 4 points from the match. The Haryana and Himachal Pradesh teams clashed with each other in the next match of the zone, which was held at Gurgaon from 19-21 November, 1987. The match was won by the Haryana team with a margin of an innings and 117 runs and the team also earned 24 points from the match. The Himachal Pradesh team`s earnings from the match were 4 points. The next match of the North Zone involved the teams like Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir and the two teams played the match at Rohtak from 23-25 November, 1987. The drawn match saw the Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir teams earning 12 and 7 points, respectively from it.

The teams of Delhi and Himachal Pradesh met with each other in the seventh of the North Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1987-88 and the match was held at Delhi from 23-25 November, 1987. The Delhi team played wonderfully in the match and clinched a victory of an innings and 187 runs in the match for earning 23 points. The Himachal Pradesh team appeared in the next match of the zone also and this time, it played against the Services team at Delhi from 27-29 November, 1987. The match saw the Services team winning by a margin of an innings and 11 runs and also earning 21 points form it, while the Himachal Pradesh team earned 1 point from the match. The Punjab team then played against the Jammu & Kashmir team in the next match of the zone and the match was played at Ludhiana from 28-30 November, 1987. The winner of the match was the Punjab team with a margin of an innings and 80 runs and the team earned 21 points from the match. The Jammu & Kashmir team earned 3 points from the match, as well.

The match between the teams of Services and Delhi took place at Delhi from 01-03 December, 1987 and this was the tenth of the North Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1987-88. Playing extremely well in the match, the Delhi team earned 17 points from the match by clinching a huge victory of 10 wickets and the Services team also earned 2 points from the match. The next match of the zone also featured the Delhi team, as it played against the Haryana team at Delhi from 05-07 December, 1987. The Delhi and Haryana teams earned 15 and 8 points, respectively from the match, as it remained drawn during the specified period of time. The Punjab team then played against the Services team in the next match of the zone and the match took place at Jullundur from 06-08 December, 1987. The Punjab and Services teams earned 15 and 5 points, respectively from the drawn match.

The next match of the North Zone was played between the teams of Punjab and Delhi and the two teams played the match at Amritsar from 10-12 December, 1987. The match remained drawn during the stipulated duration of time and the match officials awarded the Delhi and Punjab teams 7 and 5 points, respectively for the match. The clash between the teams of Haryana and Services took place in the 14th of the North Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1987-88 and the match as held at Faridabad from 11-13 December, 1987. The Haryana team clinched a victory of 86 runs in the match for earning 17 points and the Services team also earned 9 points from the match. The last match of the North Zone involved the teams like Haryana and Punjab and the match took place at Faridabad from 15-17 December, 1987. The Punjab and Haryana teams earned 6 and 3 points from the drawn match.