India A women completed one of the most remarkable chases in women's List A cricket on 25 September 2026, overhauling Australia A's daunting 362/9 at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali to win the three-match one-day series 2-1. The victory, sealed with ten balls to spare, was not merely a scoreline — it was a statement of intent from a programme that has been systematically rebuilt from the Under-19 level upward.

The Chase That Rewrote the Record Books

The series decider looked beyond India A when Tanisha Singh fell for 60 in the 20th over with the score at 119/4, leaving 244 runs needed from the remaining overs. Yet there was no arithmetic of despair in the dressing room, according to Tejal Hasabnis. The pitch was good, the batters were in form, and the conversation was unidirectional: attack.

Anushka Sharma (58) and Niki Prasad steadied the innings with a fifth-wicket stand of 91 runs. Off-spin bowling all-rounder Minnu Mani then walked in and played an unbeaten 88 off 56 balls, adding 106 runs with Niki — who had earlier taken four wickets before scoring 76. An unbroken 47-run stand between Minnu and Jintimani Kalita sealed the win. Only one side has chased more in women's List A cricket: Bengal, who hunted down 390 against Haryana in December 2024.

Former India player and national selector Hemlata Kala called it 'a feat achieved by champions,' adding that she had never seen a team play against Australia the way India A did in the one-day series. Coach Rajib Datta, who has worked with this group for years, said of Minnu: 'She only lacked belief. That knock she played in Mohali showed that she has that capability.'

The System Behind the Surge

The foundations were laid in 2023, after India won the inaugural Under-19 Women's World Cup in South Africa. VVS Laxman, head of the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru, pulled Datta and head coach Apurva Desai together with a clear mandate: replicate for the women what had already been built for the men. At the time, there was no dedicated India A women's side and no structured Under-19 pathway.

Since August 2024, India A have played 32 matches across three formats. Their assignments have grown from one per year to three in 2026, with England A set to tour in December. Around 40 players have been involved in the India A setup. The programme's results have been tangible: a 2-1 series win in Brisbane in August 2025, a 50-over series win in England in 2026, the Emerging Women's T20 Asia Cup title in Bangkok in February 2026, and now back-to-back wins over Australia A at home.

Every girl playing state cricket from the Under-15 level is logged on an Athlete Management System (AMS) that records daily training, workload and sleep — a system identical to the one used for men. Selectors have also shifted their scouting lens from runs and wickets to role-specific talent, with G Kamalini, spotted at Under-15 level, cited as a prime example of the pipeline working end to end.

The WPL Effect and the Next Generation

Datta estimates that the Indian Premier League (IPL) took a decade to pay dividends for the men's side, while the Women's Premier League (WPL) has delivered for women's cricket in just four seasons. Currently, 120 women players are divided into four squads of 25 each: main contracted, targeted, Under-23, and Under-19. Former selector Aarti Vaidya noted that the selectors have been in sync with the CoE in rotating and selecting players — something she described as rare across five years of women's cricket administration.

India A's squad also serves as a finishing school for coaches. The programme has rotated bowling coach P Krishna Kumar, fielding coach Milap Mewada, and senior women coaches including Nooshin Al Khadeer, Vanitha, Sunetra Paranjpe, Karuna Jain, Rumeli Dhar, Shrabani Debnath and Priyankka Acharya through India A tours. Notably, when Desai was called to oversee India A men's red-ball games in Puducherry, Sunetra stepped in seamlessly.

Promotions, Transitions and the Zimbabwe Series

Several India A players have now been elevated to the senior squad for the upcoming white-ball series against Zimbabwe beginning in Raipur on Friday. Niki Prasad — who captained India to the 2025 Under-19 World Cup win in Malaysia — and Jintimani Kalita are in the senior T20I squad for the first time. Anushka Sharma, Minnu Mani and Prema Rawat have been recalled, while Tejal Hasabnis, Yastika Bhatia, Vaishnavi Sharma and Sayali Satghare are in the ODI squad.

The Zimbabwe series also marks the beginning of a new era on the captaincy front: Harmanpreet Kaur has stepped down from all-format captaincy, with Smriti Mandhana set to begin her full-time tenure. Datta expects a broader transition in the senior side within a year, making India A's development trajectory a matter of national cricket interest.

The Puzzle That Remains: T20s

Not everything is solved. In T20 cricket, India A have won just one of 12 matches against Australia A and England A since 2024, though three of those defeats came by margins of seven runs or fewer. The T20 format, Datta admits, remains a puzzle. Within a year, he expects separate women's squads for each format — mirroring the men's structure. Tejal still reflects on a T20 match India A lost despite needing just 60 off 60 balls with nine wickets in hand, a reminder that the process, while advanced, is not yet complete.

The queue for India A spots is growing and, as Tejal put it, the competition ahead is the kind everyone should welcome: 'It will be a good headache for everyone as that kind of healthy competition is coming.'