The Ranji Trophy, 1955-56 set a new record for the number of participating teams, as the tournament saw a large number of 22 teams competing against each other in it. The number was the highest in the tournament till then and it was also proving the increasing popularity of the Ranji Trophy, among the cricket enthusiasts. The Madhya Bharat team was the new entrant in the tournament in this year`s edition. The other teams included the likes of Andhra, Assam, Baroda, Bengal, Bihar, Bombay, Delhi, Eastern Punjab, Gujarat, Hyderabad, Maharashtra, Madhya Bharat, Madhya Pradesh, Madras, Mysore, Orissa, Patiala, Rajputana, Saurashtra, Services, Travancore Cochin and the Uttar Pradesh. All the teams were quite determined to play well in the tournament and to try hard for winning the championship title. The match between the teams of Services and Eastern Punjab started the proceedings of the tournament. The match was held at Delhi from 01-03 December 1955 and the Services team won the match by a huge margin of innings and 92 runs.

The second match of the tournament saw a clash between the teams of Mysore and Hyderabad at Bangalore from 10-12 December, 1955. The match was drawn during its stipulated duration and the match officials declared the Mysore team as the winner, as it was leading in the first innings. In the next match of the Ranji Trophy, 1955-56, the teams of Bombay and Baroda clashed with each other at Bombay from 11-13 December, 1955 and the drawn match saw the Bombay team winning on the basis of its first innings lead. The newcomer, Madhya Bharat and the Madhya Pradesh teams met with each other in the next match at Indore from 16-18 December, 1955. This match was also drawn during its stipulated duration and the Madhya Pradesh team became the winner for having a lead in the first innings. The teams of Travancore Cochin and Andhra clashed with each other at Trivandrum from 31 December, 1955 - 02 January, 1956. The winner of the match was the Andhra team with a margin of an innings and 185 runs.

The Andhra team appeared in the next match of the Ranji Trophy, 1955-56 as well and this time, it played against the Madras team at Madras from 13-15 January, 1956. The Madras team was declared as the winner of the match for having a lead in the first innings. The next match was also held at the same time from 13-15 January, 1956 and the match involved the teams of Assam and Orissa. The two teams played the match at Guwahati and the drawn match saw the Orissa team winning on the basis of its first innings lead. The Bihar and Bengal teams played against each other at Jamshedpur from 13-15 January, 1956, where the Bengal won comprehensively by 9 wickets. The next match of the tournament saw a clash between the teams of Saurashtra and Gujarat at Rajkot from 14-16 January, 1956 and the Gujarat team won the drawn match for leading its opponents in the first innings.

The teams of Rajputana and Uttar Pradesh then met with each other at Udaipur from 15-17 January, 1956. The match was drawn during the fixed duration and the match officials declared the Uttar Pradesh team as the winner, as it was having a lead in the first innings. The Delhi and Patiala teams played the next match of the Ranji Trophy, 1955-56 at Delhi from 17-19 January, 1956. The Delhi team with a margin of 423 runs won the match. The next match saw the teams of Maharashtra and Bombay clashing with each other at Sholapur from 04-06 February, 1956. The Bombay team won the drawn match, as it was having a lead in the first innings. Then, the two teams of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh met each other at Nagpur from 04-06 February, 1956, where the Madhya Pradesh team won by a good margin of 59 runs. The next match was played between the teams of Madras and Mysore at Bangalore from 04-06 February, 1956 and the drawn match was won by the Madras team for having a lead in the first innings.

It was a clash between the teams of Bengal and Orissa in the next match of the Ranji Trophy, 1955-56 and the match as held at Calcutta from 11-13 February, 1956. The Bengal team played quite well in the match and eventually became the winner by a margin of an innings and 56 runs. The Gujarat and Bombay teams clashed with each other at Ahmedabad from 18-20 February, 1956, where the Bombay team won on its first innings lead, after the match was drawn. The Delhi team then played two matches within a few days and it played the fist match against the Services team at Delhi from 18-20 February, 1956. The match was fruitless for both the sides, as the officials declared the match as a drawn one. The Delhi team then played against the Bombay team at Delhi from 03-04 March, 1956, where the Bombay team won on the basis of its first innings lead.

The first Semi-Final match of the Ranji Trophy, 1955-56 saw a battle between the Bengal and Madhya Pradesh teams at Calcutta from 03-05 March, 1956. The Bengal team played extremely well in the match and clinched a huge victory of 10 wickets over the Madhya Pradesh team, to enter into the Final. In the second Semi-Final, the teams of Madras and Bombay clashed with each other at Madras from 11-13 March, 1956, where the Bombay team played with total dominance and won the match by an innings and 244 runs. Thus, the teams of Bengal and Bombay locked their horns together in the Final of the Ranji Trophy, 1955-56 at Calcutta from 30 March-02 April, 1956. The Bombay team continued their wonderful form of the Semi-Final in the Final also and eventually won the match by 8 wickets to become the champion of the tournament.