Ranji Trophy 1973–74

The 1973–74 Ranji Trophy marked the 40th season of India's premier first-class cricket competition. This edition involved 24 teams competing across a format that combined league and knockout stages to determine the domestic champion.

Karnataka defined the season by ending Bombay's dominant run of 15 consecutive titles. The breakthrough occurred in the semifinal round, where Karnataka defeated the long-standing champions on the first innings. Following that win, they secured their first-ever Ranji Trophy title by defeating Rajasthan by 185 runs in the final. Both matches saw Karnataka win the toss and choose to bat first.

Individual players reached significant milestones during the knockout rounds. Sunil Benjamin of Rajasthan passed 1,000 career first-class runs, while Abbas Ali Baig of Hyderabad surpassed 12,000 runs. ML Jaisimha reached 400 wickets, and Padmakar Shivalkar of Bombay moved past 300 wickets in first-class cricket. Brijesh Patel also crossed the 2,000-run mark during the tournament.

Hemant Kanitkar of Maharashtra led the batting charts for the season with 629 runs. Karnataka's B. S. Chandrasekhar proved to be the most effective bowler, claiming a total of 55 wickets throughout the tournament.