In the South Zone of the Ranji Trophy, 1973-74, there were a number of 5 teams competed against each other and the Karnataka team was a new team in the zone. The team came in place of the Mysore team and apart from Karnataka; the other teams in the zone included the likes of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Hyderabad and Andhra. All the teams that came from the Southern region of India fought hard against each other in the zonal level for becoming one of the top two teams in the zone and also to secure a birth in the knock out level of the tournament. However, only the teams like Karnataka and Hyderabad became successful to do so from the South Zone.

The South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1973-74 started with the match between the teams of Karnataka and Kerala at Tumkur from 03-04 November 1973. The Karnataka team played brilliantly in the match and won it by a margin of an innings and 22 runs to earn p points and also to get a good start in the tournament. The second match saw a battle between the teams of Hyderabad and Andhra at Kottagurem from 03-04 November 1973. The Hyderabad team thrashed the Andhra team by a huge margin of 10 wickets and also earned the entire 9 points from the match. The teams of Andhra and Tamil Nadu appeared against each other in the next match at Vishakhapatnam from 01-02 December, 1973, where the Tamil Nadu team won by an innings and 137 runs. The Tamil Nadu team also earned the full 9 points from the match.

The fourth of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1973-74 involved the teams like Karnataka and Hyderabad and the match was held at Bangalore from 01-03 December 1973. The match could not yield any fruit for any of the teams, as the match officials declared it as a drawn one. The Hyderabad team appeared in the next match of the zone also and this time, it played against the Tamil Nadu team at Madras from 15-17 December, 1973. The match officials awarded 3 points each to both the teams, as the match remained drawn during the stipulated duration. The teams of Kerala and Andhra then clashed with each other in the next match of the zone at Cochin from 15-17 December 1973 and this was another drawn match. The match saw the Andhra and Kerala teams earning 5 and 3 points, respectively from it.

In the next match of the zone, there was a clash between the teams of Kerala and Hyderabad and the match took place at Cochin from 22-23 December 1973. The match saw the Hyderabad team winning by a huge margin of an innings and 137 runs and also earning the entire 9 points from it. The match between the teams of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu was the eighth of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1973-74 and the match as held at Bangalore from 23-25 December 1973. The drawn match saw the Karnataka team earning 5 points and Tamil Nadu earning 3 points from it. The ninth match of the South Zone saw a battle between the teams of Tamil Nadu and Kerala at Salem from 29-30 December 1973. The Tamil Nadu team played wonderfully once again in this match and clinched a victory of an innings and 56 runs to earn the entire 9 points from it. The last of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1973-74 involved the teams of Andhra and Karnataka and the two teams played the match at Guntur from 29-31 December 1973. The Karnataka team won the match by a good margin of an innings and 44 runs for earning 9 points from it.