After the completion of league matches in all the five zones, the BCCI selected the top 15 teams from the zones for playing in the knock out level of the Ranji Trophy, 2001-02. The teams were selected on the basis of the points that they earned from the zonal level league matches and the 15 teams included the top three teams from each of the five zones. The teams that were promoted to the knock out level included the likes of Gujarat, Andhra, Hyderabad, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Assam, Railways, Delhi, Rajasthan, Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Mumbai, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh and Baroda. The teams played against each other in the knock out matches of the Ranji Trophy, 2001-02 like the Pre-Quarter-Finals, Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Final of the tournament. Though all the teams gave their best efforts to win the championship title, the Railways team eventually clinched the trophy with an impressive performance in the Final.

The teams of Hyderabad and Himachal Pradesh played against each other in the first Pre-Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2001-02 and the match was held at Secunderabad from 23-26 January, 2002. The Hyderabad team reached the Quarter-Final stage of the tournament by clinching a huge victory of 10 wickets in the match. The second Pre-Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2001-02 was played between the teams of Punjab and Assam and the two teams played the match at Mohali from 23-25 January, 2002. The Punjab team won the match with a huge margin of 10 wickets and reached the Quarter-Finals of the tournament, quite comfortably. The match between the teams of Gujarat and Andhra was the third Pre-Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2001-02 and the match was held at Ahmedabad from 23-27 January, 2002. The Gujarat team got the permission to advance to the Quarter-Finals of the tournament, though the match remained drawn during the stipulated duration.

The Rajasthan and Bengal teams were involved in the fourth Pre-Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2001-02 and the match was held at Jaipur from 23-27 January, 2002. The match saw the Bengal team winning by a margin of an innings and 51 runs and also getting into the Quarter-Final stage of the tournament. The teams of Tamil Nadu and Mumbai played against each other in the fifth Pre-Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2001-02 and the two teams played the match at Chennai from 23-27 January, 2002. The Tamil Nadu team got the permission to play in the Quarter-Finals of the tournament, as it won the match by a margin of 139 runs. The match between the teams of Delhi and Railways was the sixth Pre-Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2001-02 and the two teams played the match at New Delhi from 23-27 January, 2002. The match remained drawn during the specified period of time and the match officials allowed the Railways team to advance to the Quarter-Final stage of the tournament. The Orissa team met with the Uttar Pradesh team in the last and seventh Pre-Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2001-02 and the match took place at Cuttack from 27-31 January, 2002. The Orissa team won the closely contested match by a narrow margin of only 3 wickets for entering into the Quarter-Final stage of the tournament.

The first Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2001-02 was played between the teams of Baroda and Hyderabad and the two teams played the match at Baroda from 05-09 February, 2002. The Baroda team played very well in the match and clinched a victory of an innings and 256 runs for entering into the Semi-Final stage of the tournament. The teams of Punjab and Orissa played against each other in the second Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2001-02 and the match was held at Mohali from 05-09 February, 2002. The Punjab team reached the Semi-Finals of the tournament by winning the match with a margin of 243 runs. In the third Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2001-02, the Bengal and Gujarat teams played against each other at Kolkata from 05-09 February, 2002. The match remained drawn during the specified period of time and the Bengal team got the permission to enter into the Semi-Final stage of the tournament. The last and fourth Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2001-02 saw the teams of Railways and Tamil Nadu playing against each other at Delhi from 05-09 February, 2002. The Railways team clinched a comfortable victory of 8 wickets in the match and reached the Semi-Finals of the Ranji trophy, 2001-02.

The teams of Baroda and Punjab played against each other in the first Semi-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2001-02 and the match took place at Baroda from 13-17 February, 2002. The winner of the match was the Baroda team with a margin of 136 runs and the Baroda team also reached the Final of the tournament, with this win. The second Semi-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 2001-02 was played between the teams of Railways and Bengal and the two teams played the match at Delhi from 13-17 February, 2002. Though the match remained drawn during the specified period of time, the match officials allowed the Railways team to play against 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, 2001-02 and the match was held at Delhi from 06-10 March, 2002. The Railways team dominated the Baroda team throughout the Final match and eventually clinched a huge victory of 277 runs for winning the match as well as the championship title.