All the 5 teams that had been playing under the East Zone in the tournament for the previous several editions were present in the Ranji Trophy, 2001-02 also. The teams were mainly representing various states from the Eastern region of India in the most popular and premium domestic cricket tournament in India and they included the likes of Bengal, Orissa, Tripura, Assam and Bihar. The teams competed with each other very hard with the same view of claiming one of the top three spots in the zone. The teams also gave their best efforts for securing a berth in the knock out level of the tournament. The teams like Bengal, Orissa and Assam eventually got into the knock out level of the tournament from the zone by earning the highest points from the league matches. The Bengal, Orissa and Assam teams earned total of 27, 27 and 10 points, respectively, at the end of the zonal level league matches for getting into the knock out level of the Ranji Trophy, 2001-02.

The East Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 2001-02 started with the match between the teams of Bihar and Assam and the two teams played the match at Jamshedpur from 22-25 November, 2001. The match remained drawn during the specified period of time and the match officials awarded the Assam and Bihar teams 5 and 3 points, respectively for the match. The teams of Orissa and Tripura met with each other in the second match of the East Zone and the match was held at Cuttack from 22-25 November, 2001. The winner of the match was the Orissa team with a margin of an innings and 127 runs and the team earned 8 points from the match. However, the Tripura team failed to earn any points from the match. The Tripura team then played against the Bihar team in the third match of the zone and the match took place at Agartala from 30 November-03 December, 2001. The Bihar and Tripura teams earned 5 and 3 points, respectively from the drawn match.

The match between the teams of Bengal and Assam was the fourth of the East Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 2001-02 and the match was organised at Kolkata from 30 November-03 December, 2001. The Bengal team played very well in the match to earn 8 points by clinching a victory of 8 wickets and the Assam team remained pointless in the match. The next match of the zone saw the teams of Tripura and Bengal playing against each other at Agartala from 21-24 December, 2001. The match was won by the Bengal team with a huge margin of an innings and 248 runs to earn 8 points and the Tripura team failed to earn any points from the match. The Orissa team then played against the Bihar team in the next match of the East Zone and the match was held at Baripada from 21-24 December, 2001. The Orissa team earned 8 points from the match by clinching a victory of an innings and 97runs and the Bihar team remained pointless in the match.

In the seventh of the East Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 2001-02, the teams of Orissa and Assam played against each other at Balasore from 29 December, 2001 - 01 January, 2002. The match saw the Orissa team clinching a huge victory of 429 runs for earning 8 points and it also saw the Assam team remaining pointless in it. The Bihar and Bengal teams then played against each other in the next match of the zone and the match took place at Jamshedpur from 29 December, 2001 - 01 January, 2002. The Bengal team clinched a victory of 154 runs to earn 8 points from the match and the Bihar team failed to earn any points from the match. The next match of the East Zone saw the teams of Orissa and Bengal playing against each other at Baripada from 05-08 January, 2002 and the match remained drawn during the stipulated duration. Both the Orissa and Bengal teams earned 3 points, each from the drawn match. The teams of Assam and Tripura played against each other in the last of the East Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 2001-02 and the two teams played the match at Guwahati from 07-10 January, 2002. The Assam and Tripura teams earned 5 and 3 points, respectively from the drawn match.