5 teams played against each other in the Central Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 and all the teams were the regular participants of the tournament. The teams were mainly representing different states from the Central region of India in the most popular domestic cricket tournament in India. The teams included the likes of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Railways, Vidarbha and Uttar Pradesh and they tried their best to clinch the top spot in the zone. The teams also gave their best efforts for securing a berth in the knock out level of the tournament, however, only the teams like Rajasthan, Railways and Madhya Pradesh could eventually do so from the zone. The Rajasthan, Railways and Madhya Pradesh teams earned the highest of 23, 21 and 19 points, respectively from the zonal level league matches.

The match between the teams of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh was the first of the Central Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 and the two teams played the match at Jaipur from 30 October-02 November, 2000. The Rajasthan team played well in the match to clinch a victory of 6 wickets for earning 8 points and the Uttar Pradesh team failed to earn any points from the match. The second match of the zone was held at Delhi between the teams of Railways and Madhya Pradesh and the match was held from 30 October-02 November, 2000. As the match remained drawn during the stipulated duration, the Railways and Madhya Pradesh teams earned 5 and 3 points, respectively from it. The Railways team then played against the Vidarbha team in the third match of the Central Zone and the match took place at Delhi from 06-09 November, 2000. The winner of the match was the Railways team with a margin of an innings and 28 runs and the team also earned 8 points from the match. The Vidarbha team could not earn even a single point from the match.

The teams of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan were involved in the fourth of the Central Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 and the match was organised at Gwalior from 06-09 November, 2000. The Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh teams earned 5 and 3 points, respectively from the drawn match. The next match of the zone saw the Uttar Pradesh and Railways teams playing against each other at Meerut from 13-16 November, 2000. The match remained drawn during the specified period of time and the match officials awarded the Railways and Uttar Pradesh teams 5 and 3 points, respectively for the match. Then, the teams of Madhya Pradesh and Vidarbha met with each other in the next match of the zone, which was held at Indore from 13-16 November, 2000. The match saw the Madhya Pradesh team winning by a margin of an innings and 176 runs to earn 8 points. It also saw the Vidarbha team remaining pointless.

The seventh of the Central Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 was played between the teams of Rajasthan and Railways and the two teams played the match at Jaipur from 29 November-02 December, 2000. The Rajasthan and Railways teams earned 5 and 3 points, respectively from the match, as it remained drawn during the specified period of time. The Vidarbha team played against the Uttar Pradesh in the next match of the Central Zone and the match was held at Nagpur from 28-31 December, 2000. The winner of the match was the Uttar Pradesh team with a margin of an innings and 175 runs and the team also earned 8 points from the match. The Vidarbha team remained pointless in the match. The Uttar Pradesh team appeared in the next match of the zone also and this time, it played against the Madhya Pradesh team at Kanpur from 18-21 January, 2001. The Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh teams earned 5 and 3 points, respectively from the drawn match. The last of the Central Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 involved the teams like Vidarbha and Rajasthan and the two teams played the match at Nagpur from 18-21 January, 2001. The match also remained drawn during the specified period of time and the match officials awarded the Rajasthan and Vidarbha teams 5 and 3 points, respectively for the match.