There were a number of 5 teams played against each other under the South Zone in the Ranji Trophy, 1984-85. All the teams were coming from the Southern region of India and they were actually representing different states form that region. The teams included the likes of Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and Hyderabad and they were also the regular participants in the tournament. In an endeavour to become one of the two teams in the zone and also to get a promotion to the knock out level of the tournament, the teams gave their best efforts. However, only the teams like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu could do so from the South Zone. The Karnataka team earned a total of 91 points and Tamil Nadu earned 78 points, at the end of the zonal level league matches.
The match between the teams of Hyderabad and Tamil Nadu was the first of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1984-85 and the match was held at Secunderabad from 13-15 November, 1984. The match remained drawn during the stipulated duration and the match officials awarded the Tamil Nadu and Hyderabad teams 9 and 7 points, respectively for the match. The second match of the zone was played between the teams of Karnataka and Andhra and the two teams played the match at Bangalore from 18-20 November, 1984. The match saw the Karnataka team earning 29 points by clinching a victory of 167 runs and the Andhra team earned 9 points from the match, as well. The Kerala and Karnataka teams played against each other in the third match of the zone and the teams played the match at Trivandrum from 01-03 December, 1984. The Karnataka team won the match by a huge margin of 223 runs to earn 31 points and the Kerala team earned 5 points from the match, as well.
The teams of Kerala and Tamil Nadu appeared in the fourth of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1984-85 and the match was played at Tellicherry from 15-17 December, 1984. The winner of the match was the Tamil Nadu team with a margin of 165 runs and the Tamil Nadu and Kerala teams earned 31 and 11 points, respectively from the match. The Tamil Nadu team appeared in the next match of the zone also and this time, it played against the Karnataka team at Salem from 21-23 December, 1984. The match saw the Karnataka team winning by a narrow margin of 4 wickets and also earning 24 points. The Tamil Nadu earned 8 points from the match, as well. The next match of the zone involved the teams like Andhra and Hyderabad and the match was held at Machhalipatnam from 22-24 December, 1984. The Hyderabad team earned 32 points from the match, by clinching a huge victory of 8 wickets and the match saw the Andhra team earning 9 points, as well.
The clash between the teams of Hyderabad and Kerala took place in the seventh of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1984-85 and the two teams played the match at Secunderabad from 30 December, 1984 - 01 January, 1985. The drawn match saw the Hyderabad and Kerala teams earning 9 and 4 points, respectively from it. The next match of the zone was played between the teams of Andhra and Kerala and the match was held at Vijayawada from 04-06 January, 1985. The Andhra team won the match with a margin of an innings and 50 runs and earned 29 points from it .The Kerala team earned 4 points from the match, as well. The Andhra team was apart of the next match of the zone also and this time, it played against the Tamil Nadu team at Madras from 02-04 February, 1985. The winner of the match was the Tamil Nadu team with a margin of 150 runs and the Tamil Nadu and Andhra teams earned 30 and 5 points, respectively from the match. The teams of Karnataka and Hyderabad clashed with each other in the last of the South Zone league matches in the Ranji Trophy, 1984-85 and they played the match at Hassan from 02-04 February, 1985. The match remained drawn during the specified period of time and the match officials awarded the Hyderabad and Karnataka teams 9 and 7 points, respectively for the match.