There were 6 teams participated under the North Zone in the Ranji Trophy, 1996-97, all the regular ones mainly representing various states from the Northern region of India. The tournament is considered to be the best and most popular domestic cricket tournament in India and the North Zone teams included the likes of Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Services and Himachal Pradesh. All the teams competed with each other very hard for claiming one of the top three spots in the zone and also to get chance for playing in the Super League stage of the Ranji Trophy, 1996-97. However, the teams like Punjab, Delhi and Haryana eventually became successful to do so from the North Zone, as they earned the highest points from the zonal level league matches.

The teams of Delhi and Services played against each other in the first of the North Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1996-97 and the two teams played the match at Delhi from 24-27 October, 1996. The Delhi team won the closely contested match with a narrow margin of only 2 wickets and earned full points from the match. The second match of the zone involved the teams like Haryana and Himachal Pradesh and the match was held at Chamba from 24-27 October, 1996. The Haryana team got a very good start in the tournament, as it won the match with a wonderful margin of an innings and 260 runs for earning 8 points. The Himachal Pradesh team failed to earn any points from the match. The Jammu & Kashmir and Punjab teams then played against each other in the next match of the zone and the match took place at Amritsar from 25-28 October, 1996. The winner of the match was the Punjab team with a very good margin of an innings and 91 runs and the team also earned full points from the match.

The Punjab team appeared in the fourth of the North Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1996-97 also and this time, it played against the Himachal Pradesh team at Mandi from 31 October-03 November, 1996. The match saw the Punjab team winning by a good margin of 6 wickets for earning 8 points and it also saw the Himachal Pradesh team remaining pointless. The match between the teams of Haryana and Jammu & Kashmir was the next match of the North Zone and the two teams played the match at Faridabad from 31 October-03 November, 1996. The Haryana team earned 8 points from the match by clinching a victory of 8 wickets and the Jammu & Kashmir team remained pointless in the match. The next match of the zone saw the teams of Haryana and Punjab playing against each other at Amritsar from 06-09 November, 1996. The match remained drawn during the specified period of time and the match officials awarded the Haryana and Punjab teams 5 and 3 points, respectively for the match.

The Services team played against the Himachal Pradesh team in the seventh of the North Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1996-97 and the match was held at Palam from 07-10 November, 1996. The Services team played very well in the match for clinching a huge victory of 9 wickets to earn 8 points and the Himachal Pradesh team failed to earn any points from the match. Then, the teams of Delhi and Himachal Pradesh met with each other in the next match of the zone and the match took place at Delhi from 13-16 November, 1996. The match was won by the Delhi team with a very good margin of an innings and 155 runs and earned 8 points. However, the Himachal Pradesh team could not earn even a single point from the match. The teams of Services and Haryana played against each other in the next match of the North Zone and the two teams played the match at Palam from 13-16 November, 1996. The Haryana team won the match by a good margin of 8 wickets and earned 8 points from it and the Services team remained pointless in the match.

The Delhi and Punjab teams met with each other in the tenth of the North Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1996-97 and the match was held at Delhi from 11-14 December, 1996. The drawn match saw the Delhi and Punjab teams earning 5 and 3 points, respectively from it. The teams of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir played against each other in the next match of the zone and the match took place at Una from 11-14 December, 1996. The match saw the Himachal Pradesh team winning by a very good margin of an innings and 42 runs for earning 8 points and it also saw the Jammu & Kashmir team remaining pointless. The next match of the zone saw the teams of Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir playing against each other at Delhi from 18-21 December, 1996. The match officials declared the match as abandoned for some unavoidable reasons, without even a single ball was bowled.

The next match of the North Zone was played between the teams of Services and Punjab and the match took place at Palam from 18-21 December, 1996. The Punjab team played quite well in the match and clinched a comfortable victory of an innings and 148 runs to earn 8 points from the match. The Services team remained pointless in the match. The Haryana team played against the Delhi team in the next match of the zone and the match was held at Gurgaon from 24-27 December, 1996. The match remained drawn during the stipulated duration and both the Delhi and Haryana teams earned 5 points, each from the drawn match. The last of the North Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1996-97 involved the teams like Services and Jammu & Kashmir and the two teams played the match at Palam from 24-27 December, 1996. This match was also declared as an abandoned one without even a single ball was bowled.