The teams that participated under the Central Zone in the Ranji Trophy, 1988-89 were mainly representing different states from the Central region of India. All the teams were the regular participants in the tournament and they included the likes of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Vidarbha and Railways. All the teams played against each other in the zonal level league matches for becoming one of the top two teams in the zone and also to secure a birth in the knock out level of the tournament. However, it was the teams like Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh that eventually became successful to do so from the zone, as both the teams earned 54 points from the zonal level league matches.

The teams of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan teams played against each other in the first of the Central Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1988-89 and the match was played at Rajnandgaon from 13-15 November, 1988. The winner of the match was the Madhya Pradesh team with a very good margin of 130 runs for earning 17 points and the Rajasthan team also earned 5 points from the match. The second match of the zone was played between the teams of Vidarbha and Uttar Pradesh and the two teams played the match at Nagpur from 13-15 November, 1988. No specific results came out from the match and the Vidarbha and Uttar Pradesh teams earned 13 and 8 points, respectively from the match. The Madhya Pradesh team then played against the Railways team in the third match of the zone and the match took place at Delhi from19-21 November, 1988. The match remained drawn during the specified period of time and the match officials awarded the Railways and Madhya Pradesh teams 14 and 10 points, respectively for the match.

The Vidarbha and Rajasthan teams then played against each other in the fourth of the Central Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1988-89 and the match took place at Nagpur from 19-21 November, 1988. The drawn match saw the Rajasthan team earning 12 points and Vidarbha earning 9 points from it. The next match of the zone involved the teams like Uttar Pradesh and Railways and the match was held at Kanpur from 25-27 November, 1988. The Uttar Pradesh and Railways teams earned 12 and 10 points from the match, as it remained drawn during the stipulated duration. The match between the teams of Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha was the next match of the zone and the two teams played the match at Nagda from 25-27 November, 1988. Playing very well in the match, the Madhya Pradesh team clinched a victory of an innings and 60 runs and earned 21 points from the match. The Vidarbha team also earned 2 points from the match.

The Vidarbha team appeared in the next match of the zone also and this time, it played against the Railways team at Gwalior from 02-04 December, 1988. The match remained drawn during the stipulated duration and the Railways and Vidarbha teams earned 12 and 9 points, respectively from the drawn match. The next match of the zone saw a clash between the teams of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh and the two teams played the match at Jaipur from 02-04 December, 1988. The Uttar Pradesh team showed a wonderful performance in the match and earned 17 points from it, by clinching a victory of 7 wickets. The earnings of the Rajasthan team from the match were 5 points. The Rajasthan team then played against the Railways team in the next match of the zone and the match was organised at Jaipur from 09-11 December, 1988. The Railways team played extremely well in the match and the extraordinary performances of the Railways cricketers helped the team clinching a victory of 102 runs. The Railways team earned 16 points and Rajasthan earned points from the match. The last of the Central Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1988-89 saw a huge clash between the teams of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh and the match took place at Kanpur from 09-11 December, 1988. Showing a wonderful performance in the match, the Uttar Pradesh team beat the Madhya Pradesh team by a huge margin of 149 runs and earned 17 points from it. The Madhya Pradesh team earned 6 points from the match, as well.