The Ranji Trophy, 1971-72 saw the participation of a number of 24 teams from all over India and all the teams were the regular participants in the tournament. The teams that took part in the tournament included the likes of Andhra, Assam, Baroda, Bengal, Bihar, Bombay, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Hyderabad, Jammu & Kashmir, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Mysore, Orissa, Punjab, Railways, Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Services, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and the Vidarbha. The teams played against each other, being divided into five different zones, according to the rules of the tournament. The all-time heavyweight team, Bombay team was once again the most powerful team for winning the title and it did so, in this year`s edition also.

The first match of the Ranji Trophy, 1971-72 was played between the teams of Orissa and Assam and the East Zone match was held at Cuttack from 07-09 December 1971. The drawn match saw the Orissa and Assam teams earning 5 and 3 points, respectively from it. The second match of the tournament saw a clash between the teams of Kerala and Andhra, both from the South Zone. The Kerala team with a margin of 5 wickets won the match that was held at Kannur from 11-13 December 1971 and the team earned 8 points from the match, as well. The teams of Bihar and Assam played the third match of the tournament at Patna from 12-13 December, 1971, where the Bihar team won by an innings and 125 runs to earn 9 points from it. The match between the teams of Orissa and Bengal was the fourth match of the tournament and the East Zone match was held at Cuttack from 12-14 December 1971. The Bengal team played well in the match and clinched a victory of 7 wickets for earning 8 valuable points from it.

The next match of the tournament was played between the East Zone teams of Bengal and Assam at Calcutta from 18-20 December, 1971. The Bengal team played wonderfully once again and defeated the Assam team with a huge margin of an innings and 17 runs for earning 8 points from the match. Then the Gujarat and Maharashtra teams played against each other in the next match of the tournament and the match was held at Bulsar from 18-20 December, 1971. The Maharashtra team won the match by a margin of 7 wickets and earned 8 points from it. The teams of Hyderabad and Andhra clashed with each other in the seventh match of the tournament and the match was held at Sirpur-Kagaznagar from 18-20 December, 1971. The Hyderabad team won by a huge margin of 10 wickets and earned 9 points from the match. The next match saw a battle between the East Zone teams of Orissa and Bihar and the match took place at Cuttack from 18-20 December, 1971. The Bihar team earned 8 points from the match, by winning it with a margin of 7 wickets.

There was a clash between the teams of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the next match of the tournament and the match was held at Madras from 18-19 December, 1971. The winner of the match was the Tamil Nadu team with a margin of an innings and 142 runs and it earned 8 points from the match, as well. The teams of Saurashtra and Baroda appeared in the next match of the tournament that was held at Rajkot from 01-03 January, 1972. The Baroda team got a comprehensive win of 8 wickets for earning 8 points from the match. In the next match, the teams of Andhra and Mysore met with each other at Vijayawada from 08-10 January, 1972, where the Mysore team won by 10 wickets for earning 9 points. The match between the teams of Bihar and Bengal was the 12th match of the tournament and the East Zone match was held at Jamadoba from 08-10 January 1972. The drawn match saw the Bengal team earning 5 points and Bihar earning 3 points from it. The next match was played between the teams of Gujarat and Bombay at Surat from 08-09 January, 1972, where the Bombay team won by an innings and 157 runs for earning 9 points from it.

The South Zone teams like Kerala and Hyderabad then played against each other in the 14th match of the Ranji Trophy, 1971-72 and the match was held at Kannur from 08-10 January 1972. The Hyderabad team won the match by 10 wickets and earned 8 valuable points from it. The next match of the tournament saw a clash between the West Zone teams of Maharashtra and Saurashtra and the two teams played the match at Kolhapur from 08-10 January 1972. The drawn match saw the Maharashtra and Saurashtra teams earning 5 and 3 points, respectively from it. In the 16th match of the tournament, the teams of Tamil Nadu and Hyderabad clashed with each other at Madras from 14-16 January 1972 and it was won by the Hyderabad team with a margin of 39 runs. The team earned 8 points from the match, as well. The match between the teams of Bombay and Saurashtra was the next in the tournament and it was held at Bombay from 15-16 January, 1972. The winner of the match was the Bombay team with a margin of an innings and 34 runs and the team also earned 9 points from it. The teams of Maharashtra and Baroda clashed with each other at Ahmednagar from 15-17 January 1972 and the match was won by the Maharashtra team by 10 wickets for earning 8 valuable points from it.

After the completion of the league level matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1971-72, the top teams from the five zones clashed with each other in the knock out level for the championship title. The first match of the knock out level of the tournament that is the Pre-Quarter-Final match was played between the teams of Bihar and Railways. The match took place at Jamshedpur from 10-12 March, 1972 and though the match was drawn, the match officials allowed the Bihar team to play in the Quarter-Final stage of the tournament. The second Pre-Quarter-Final match of the tournament involved the teams like Punjab and Madhya Pradesh and it was held at Jullundur from 18-21 March, 1972. The match officials allowed the Punjab team to advance to Quarter-Final stage, after the match remained drawn during the stipulated duration.

The Bihar team played against the Bombay team in the first Quarterfinal match of the Ranji Trophy, 1971-72 at Bombay from 17-20 March, 1972. The Bombay team won the match comprehensively by a margin of an innings and 13 runs for entering into the Semi-Final level. The second Quarterfinal match of the Ranji Trophy, 1971-72 saw a clash between the teams of Mysore and Rajasthan at Bangalore from 17-20 March 1972. Mysore was the winner of the match and it reached the Semi-Finals. The clash between the teams of Bengal and Maharashtra took place in the third Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 1971-72 at Calcutta from 18-21 March, 1972. Bengal won the match by 8 wickets and proceeded towards Semi-Final. The last Quarter-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 1971-72 involved the teams like Punjab and Hyderabad and the match took place at Jullundar from 31-03 April, 1972. The Hyderabad team won the match by a margin of an innings and 59 runs and advanced to the Semi-Final stage.

The first Semi-Final of the Ranji Trophy, 1971-72 was held at Bombay from 31 March-02 April, 1972 and the two teams of Bombay and Mysore played against each other in the match. The Bombay team won the match convincingly by a huge margin of 372 runs and comfortably reached the Final of the tournament. In the second Semi-Final of the Ranji Trophy, 1971-72, the teams of Bengal and Hyderabad played against each other at Calcutta from 08-11 April, 1972. The match saw the Bengal team winning by 9 wickets for setting a clash with the Bombay team in the Final of the tournament. Thus, the Final of the Ranji Trophy, 1971-72 witnessed the teams of Bengal and Bombay locking their horns together at Bombay from 21-26 April, 1972. The Bombay team dominated the Bengal team throughout the match and eventually clinched a huge victory of 246 runs to win the championship for yet another time.