The 1986–87 Ranji Trophy marked the 53rd edition of the competition. A total of 27 teams competed across the country in this first-class tournament, which utilized a structure of league play followed by a knockout stage to determine the eventual winner.
Hyderabad claimed their second title by defeating Delhi in the final. The match outcome hinged on a first innings lead, which Hyderabad secured after winning the toss and choosing to bat first at the start of the game.
Carlton Saldanha from Karnataka led all batters during the season with 782 total runs. His form was remarkable during the early stages of the competition, as he recorded scores of 89, 77, 70, 74, 84, 70, and 142 across his first seven innings.
Sunil Lahore of Madhya Pradesh proved the most effective bowler of the season. He finished the campaign with a total of 32 wickets.
| Pre-Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Finals |
| 31 Jan 1987 — Calcutta | |||
| Bengal | 614/7d & 17/2 | ||
| 22 Feb 1987 — Calcutta | |||
| Rajasthan | 465 | ||
| Bengal | 464/9 | ||
| Delhi (Q) | 545/7d | ||
| 07 Mar 1987 — Delhi | |||
| Delhi | 711/3d & 247/1 | ||
| Karnataka | 440 | ||
| 14 Feb 1987 — Bangalore | |||
| Karnataka | 465 & 166/6 | ||
| Bombay | 404 | ||
| 21 Mar 1987 — Delhi | |||
| Delhi | 433 | ||
| Hyderabad | 457 & 480/7 | ||
| 14 Feb 1987 — Hyderabad | |||
| Hyderabad | 605/7d & 224/6d | ||
| Gujarat | 314 & 129/2 | ||
| 07 Mar 1987 — Secunderabad | |||
| Hyderabad | 783/8d | ||
| Bihar | 468 & 87/0 | ||
| 14 Feb 1987 — Faridabad | |||
| Haryana | 234 | ||
| 1 Feb 1987 — Patna | |||
| Bihar | 360 & 283/4 | ||
| Bihar | 422 & 90/1 | ||
| Railways | 210 & 394/7d |
| 21–26 March 1987 Scorecard |
| Hyderabad | v | Delhi (H) |
| 457 (138 overs)Abdul Azeem 114, Arshad Ayub 174Mohinder Amarnath 3/48 | 433 (128 overs)Bhaskar Pillai 160*Rajesh Yadav 5/114 | |
| 480/7 (138.5 overs)Vijay Mohanraj 211*Jaspal Singh 4/132 |
| Hyderabad won on first innings leadFeroz Shah Kotla, Delhi Umpires: N. N. Patwardhan, Joydeb Roy |
Squad lists and statistics via Wikipedia