There was no Super League stage in the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 and the organisers of the premium domestic cricket tournament in India, BCCI decided to go back to the old format for the tournament. As a result, the top three teams from each of the zones got promotion to the knock out level of the tournament and they competed with each other for the championship title in the knock out level. The teams that entered into the knock out level of the tournament included the likes of Assam, Karnataka, Baroda, Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Hyderabad, Maharashtra, Railways, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Orissa, Jammu & Kashmir and Mumbai. The teams played against each other in the knock out matches of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01, like the Pre-Quarter-Finals, Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Final of the tournament. Though, all the teams tried their best to become the champion, it was the Baroda team that eventually became successful to clinch the coveted championship title.

The first Pre-Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 was played between the teams of Assam and Karnataka and the two teams played the match at Guwahati from 10-12 March, 2001. The Karnataka team won the match by a margin of 7 wickets and entered into the Quarter-Final stage of the tournament. The teams of Baroda and Bengal met with each other in the second Pre-Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 and the match was held at Vadodara from 10-14 March, 2001. The winner of the match was the Baroda team with a margin of 222 runs and got the permission to play in the Quarter-Finals of the tournament. The Madhya Pradesh and Hyderabad teams were involved in the third Pre-Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 and the match took place at Indore from 10-14 March, 2001. Though the match remained drawn during the stipulated duration, the match officials allowed the Madhya Pradesh team to advance to the Quarter-Final stage of the tournament.

The match between the teams of Maharashtra and Railways was the fourth Pre-Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 and the match was held at Pune from 10-14 March, 2001. The match remained drawn during the specified period of time and the Railways team advanced to the Quarter-Finals of the tournament from the drawn match. The fifth Pre-Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 was played between the teams of Punjab and Rajasthan and the two teams played the match at Mohali from 10-12 March, 2001. The match was won by the Punjab team with a good margin of an innings and 12 runs and the team also reached the Quarter-Finals of the tournament. The Tamil Nadu and Delhi teams appeared in the sixth Pre-Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 and the teams played the match at Chennai from 10-14 March, 2001. The Tamil Nadu team entered into the Quarter-Final stage of the tournament, in spite of the match being drawn. The last and seventh Pre-Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 saw the teams of Orissa and Jammu & Kashmir playing against each other at Cuttack from 11-14 March, 2001. The Orissa team played very well in the match and clinched a huge victory of 420 runs for entering into the Quarter-Final stage of the tournament.

The Mumbai and Punjab teams met with each other in the first Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 and the two teams played the match at Mumbai from 20-04 March, 2001. The match saw the Punjab team winning by a good margin of 207 runs and entering into the Semi-Final stage of the tournament. The teams of Baroda and Tamil Nadu played against each other in the second Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 and the match was held at Vadodara from 22-25 March, 2001. The Baroda team easily entered into the Semi-Finals of the tournament by beating the Tamil Nadu with a margin of 160 runs in the match. The third Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 involved the teams like Madhya Pradesh and Orissa and the match took place at Gwalior from 22-26 March, 2001. The winner of the match was the Orissa team with a margin of 7 wickets and the team also reached the Semi-Final stage of the tournament. The Railways and Karnataka teams played against each other in the last and fourth Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 and the match was held at Delhi from 22-26 March, 2001. The match remained drawn during the specified period of time and the match officials allowed the Railways team to play in the Semi-Finals of the tournament.

The teams of Baroda and Orissa played against each other in the first Semi-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 and the two teams played the match at Vadodara from 05-09 April, 2001. Though, there was no specified winner in the match and it remained drawn during the specified period of time, the match officials allowed the Baroda team to enter into the Final of the tournament. The second Semi-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 saw the teams of Punjab and Railways playing against each other at Mohali from 05-09 April, 2001. The Railways team won the match with a comfortable margin of 5 wickets and set up a clash with the Baroda team in the Final of the tournament. Thus, the teams of Baroda and Railways locked their horns together in the Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2000-01 and the match was organised at Vadodara from 19-23 April, 2001. The Baroda team became successful to clinch a narrow victory of only 21 runs in the closely contested match and won the match as well as the championship title.