The North Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82 was comprised of a number of 5 teams, all coming from the Northern region of India. The teams were taking part in the tournament on a regular basis for the previous few editions and they included the likes of Services, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir and Delhi. They played against each other in the zonal league matches for becoming one of the top two teams in the zone and also for getting a chance to get into the knock out level of the tournament. However, the teams like Punjab and Delhi became successful to do so from the zone, as they earned 24 and 23 points, respectively after the completion of the zonal league matches.
The first of the North Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82 was played between the teams of Delhi and Services at Delhi from 07-09 November 1981. The match remained drawn during the specified period of time and the Delhi team earned 5 points from the match. The second match of the zone saw a clash between the teams of Punjab and Haryana and the match was held at Chandigarh from 07-09 November, 1981. The match also remained drawn during the stipulated duration and the match officials awarded both the Punjab and Haryana teams 4 points, each for the match. The clash between the teams of Punjab and Services took place in the next match of the zone at Amritsar from 12-14 November, 1981. The Punjab team earned 8 points forms the match, by clinching a victory of an innings and 54 runs.
The Delhi and Haryana teams clashed with each other in the fourth of the North Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82 and the match was held at Delhi from 12-14 November, 1981. The drawn match saw the Delhi team earning 5 points and Haryana earning 3 points from it. The Haryana team appeared in the next match of the zone also and this time, it played against the Services team at Faridabad from 22-24 November, 1981. The Haryana team earned 8 valuable points by winning the match with a very good margin of 10 wickets. The next match of the zone saw the two teams of Delhi and Punjab clashing with each other at Patiala from 22-24 November 1981. The drawn match saw the Delhi team earning 5 points and Punjab earning 3 points from it.
The Punjab team then played against the Jammu & Kashmir team in the next match of the zone at Patiala from 26-28 November, 1981. The Punjab team played wonderfully in the match and clinched a victory of an innings and 79 runs for earning the entire 9 points. The eighth of the North Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82 was played between the teams of Services and Jammu & Kashmir at Delhi from 30 November-02 December, 1981. Playing very well in the match, the Services team earned 8 points by winning the match with a huge margin of 9 wickets. The next match of the North Zone saw the Delhi team playing against the Jammu & Kashmir team at Delhi from 04-06 December, 1981. The winner of the team was the Delhi team with a very good margin of an innings and 177 runs and the team earned 8 valuable points from the match, as well. The last of the North Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1981-82 involved the teams like Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir and the two teams played the match at Rohtak from 08-10 December, 1981. The Haryana team finished the zonal level matches on a positive note, as it earned 8 pints by winning this match with a wonderful margin of an innings and 20 runs.
