The Ranji Trophy, 1951-52 started with great enthusiasm and also with the then highest number of participating teams in the history of Ranji Trophy. The tournament saw the participation of a number of 21 teams, including the new participant, Travancore Cochin. The other teams that participated in the tournament included the likes of Assam, Baroda, Bengal, Bihar, Bombay, Delhi, East Punjab, Gujarat, Holkar, Hyderabad, Madras, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Mysore, Orissa, Rajasthan, Saurashtra, Southern Punjab, Services, Travancore Cochin and the Uttar Pradesh. The tournament was a successful one and it started with the match of Delhi and Eastern Punjab at Delhi from 16-19 November, 1951. It was a drawn match where the match officials declared the Eastern Punjab as the winner for having a lead in the first innings.
The teams of Baroda and Maharashtra met with each other in the second match of the Ranji Trophy, 1951-52 at Kolhapur from 16-19 November, 1951, where the Maharashtra team won on the basis of its first innings lead. The next match involved the teams of Bombay and Saurashtra and the match was held at Bombay from 24-25 November, 1951. The Bombay team played wonderfully in the match and eventually won it by a huge margin of an innings and 323 runs. The teams of Maharashtra and Gujarat played the next match against each other at Kolhapur from 01-04 December, 1951. The match was drawn during its stipulated duration and the Gujarat team was declared as the winner because of having a lead in the first innings. It was a clash between the newcomer, Travancore Cochin and the Mysore team in the next match of the Ranji Trophy, 1951-52. The match was held at Bangalore from 08-09 December, 1951 and it saw the Mysore team winning by an innings and 87 runs. Then the Southern Punjab and Eastern Punjab teams met with each other in the next match at Patiala from 08-11 December, 1951, where the Southern Punjab team won by a huge margin of 10 wickets.
The next match of the Ranji Trophy, 1951-52 saw a clash between the teams of Services and Rajasthan at Ajmer from 08-10 December 1951 and it was won by the Services team with a margin of an innings and 173 runs. In the match between Uttar Pradesh and Bihar that held at Kanpur from 14-17 December, 1951, the Bihar team won by 4 wickets. The teams of Assam and Orissa clashed with each other at Nowgong from 15-18 December, 1951 for the next match of the tournament and the Assam team won the match by 103 runs. The Bihar team played against the champions of the previous year, the Holkar team at Jamshedpur from 21-23 December, 1951, in the next match of the tournament. The winner of the match was the Holkar team that won by a margin of 9 wickets.
It was a clash between the teams of Mysore and Hyderabad clashed with each other at Bangalore from 22-25 December, 1951 in the next match of the tournament, where the Mysore team won by a huge margin of 422 runs. The teams of Madras and Madhya Pradesh met in the next match of the Ranji Trophy, 1951-52 at Madras from 23-25 December, 1951. The match was entirely dominated by the Madras team and it eventually won the match by 10 wickets. In the next match of the tournament, the teams of Bombay and Gujarat clashed with each other at Bombay from 21-23 January, 1952. The Bombay team won the match by a huge margin of an innings and 124 runs. The teams of Services and Southern Punjab then played against each other at Delhi from 21-24 January, 1952 and the Services team won the match convincingly by 150 runs.
The Bengal team played against the Assam team at Calcutta from 24-26 January, 1952, where it became successful to clinch a victory of an innings and 413 runs. The next match of the Ranji Trophy, 1951-52 was held between the teams of Madras and Mysore at Madras from 25-28 January, 1952. The match saw the Mysore team winning by a good margin of 174 runs. The last match of the tournament saw the teams of Holkar and Bengal competing with each other at Indore from 30 January-02 February, 1952. The winner of the match was the Holkar team with a margin of 7 wickets. In the first Semi-Final of the Ranji Trophy, 1951-52, the teams of Mysore and Bombay clashed with each other at Bangalore from 22-23 February 1952. The Bombay team played very well in the match and won it by a huge difference of an innings and 7 runs to enter the Final. The second Semi-Final saw the clash between the teams of Holkar and Services at Indore from 22-25 February 1952 and the Holkar team comprehensively won the match by 258 runs. The Final match was held between the teams of Bombay and Holkar at Bombay from 01-05 March, 1952. The match saw a total dominance of the Bombay team over its opponents and it thrashed the Holkar team by a huge margin of 531 runs for winning the championship.