27 teams participated in the Ranji Trophy, 1990-91, one of the most popular domestic cricket tournaments in India. The teams were selected by the tournament organisers, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), from all the parts of India. The BCCI divided the teams into five different zones for playing against each other and then it allowed the top two teams from each zone to compete in the knock out level of the tournament. The teams that took part in Ranji Trophy, 1990-91 included the teams of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Baroda, Bengal, Bihar, Bombay, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Hyderabad, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Railways, Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Services, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Vidarbha.

Ranji Trophy, 1990-91, Central Zone League Matches: All the regular five teams that had been playing against each other under the Central Zone in the tournament for the past several years took part in the Ranji Trophy, 1990-91. This is considered as the leading domestic cricket tournament in India and the teams in the Central Zone were mainly representing different states from the Central region of India. The participating teams in the Central Zone included the likes of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Vidarbha, Uttar Pradesh and Railways. The teams played against each other in the zonal level with the view of becoming one of the top two teams in the zone and also to get a chance for competing in the knock out level of the tournament. The teams from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh eventually became successful to clinch the top spots in the Central zone. They earned a total of 60 and 50 points respectively from the zonal level league matches and they also competed against the top teams of the other zones in the knock out level for the championship title.

Ranji Trophy, 1990-91, East Zone League Matches: The East Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 1990-91, the premium domestic cricket tournament in India, saw the participation of 5 teams, all were regular ones. The teams were representing five different states form the Eastern region of India, in the tournament and they included the likes of Bengal, Assam, Tripura, Bihar and Orissa. All the teams tried their best to claim the top spot in the zone by beating the other teams and securing a berth in the knock out level. However, only the teams like Bengal and Bihar could eventually do so from the zone, as they earned total of 79 and 65 points, respectively, at the end of the zonal level league matches. They went on to the knock out level of the tournament for playing against the top teams of the other zones, for the championship title.

Ranji Trophy, 1990-91, North Zone League Matches: Six teams played against each other under the North Zone in the Ranji Trophy, 1990-91. Ranji Trophy is one of the leading domestic cricket tournaments in India. Most of the teams were representing the states from the Northern region of India and were also the regular participants in the tournament. The teams included the likes of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Services, Punjab and Haryana. All the teams gave their best efforts to become the topper in the zone. The teams also tried very hard for getting promotion to the knock out level of the tournament, however, only the teams like Delhi and Haryana could eventually do so from the zone. The Delhi and Haryana teams earned total of 92 and 87 points, respectively from the zonal level league matches and proceeded toward the knock out level of the tournament from the North Zone.

Ranji Trophy, 1990-91, South Zone League Matches: The South Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 1990-91, the leading domestic cricket tournament in India comprised 6 teams, all coming from the Southern region of India. All the teams had been playing in the tournament on a regular basis for the previous several years and they included the likes of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra, Karnataka, Hyderabad and Goa. The teams competed with each other very hard for claiming the top spot in the zone and also for securing a birth in the knock out level of the tournament. However, the teams like Hyderabad and Karnataka eventually became successful to do so from the zone, as they earned total of 85 and 77 points, respectively, at the end of the zonal level league matches.

Ranji Trophy, 1990-91, West Zone League Matches: The West Zone in the Ranji Trophy, 1990-91 that is considered as the most popular and fruitful domestic cricket tournament in India saw the participation of 5 teams. All the teams had been playing in the tournament on a regular basis for the previous several years and the BCCI selected the teams from the Western region of India. The teams included the likes of Gujarat, Baroda, Maharashtra, Bombay and Saurashtra and all the teams tried their best to become one of the top two teams in the zone. Though, all the teams also gave their best efforts for securing a birth in the knock out level of the tournament, only the teams like Maharashtra and Bombay could eventually do so. The Maharashtra and Bombay teams earned total of 64 and 58 points, respectively from the zonal level league matches and they competed with the top teams of the other zones in the knock out level, for winning the coveted championship title.

Ranji Trophy, 1990-91, Knock out Matches: The organisers of the Ranji Trophy, 1990-91 that is one of the leading domestic cricket tournaments in India, the BCCI allowed the top two teams from each of the five zones to play in the knock out level. The top ten teams in the tournament played against each other in the knock out matches of the Ranji Trophy, 1990-91 and vied for the coveted and most desired championship title. The teams included the likes of Madhya Pradesh, Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bombay, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Hyderabad, Bihar, Delhi and Haryana. The teams competed in the Pre-Quarter-Finals, Quarter-Finals, Semi-Finals and Final match of the tournament and the Haryana team eventually won the championship title by beating the Bombay team in the closely contested Final.