Rainfed agriculture is complex and more challenging due to rainfall variability, shrinking land, soil fertility depletion, decreasing carbon (C) stock and reduced system productivity. Alfisols occupy 30% of arable land in semi-arid dryland regions with only 30-40% land use efficiency due to the prevalence of monocropping. Double cropping with efficient rainwater management can increase productivity and stability in rainfed areas by improving crop diversification, nutrient cycling and water use efficiency. The field experiment was conducted at the Gungal Research Farm of ICAR- Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (17^o05’ N, 78^o39’E) between 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 to determine the best possible double cropping system in a rainfed region of Alfisols. The treatments comprising of six legume–oilseed cropping systems with and without rainwater management were laid out in Randomized Block Design with three replications. During the kharif season legumes viz., cowpea, green gram and black gram were sown, and after harvesting of legume crops, oilseeds viz., sesame and safflower were sown in the month of October in both the years. Various crops grown with different rain water management practices demonstrated significant variation in crop growth parameters, such as in kharif, where cowpea recorded the highest biomass (16.21 g plant^-1 and 12.35 g plant^-1) and leaf area index (LAI) (1.58 and 1.52) at 45 DAS in 2022 and 2023, respectively. While in the rabi season, sesame with rainwater management showed the highest growth in terms of biomass (8.14 g plant^-1 and 8.21 g plant^-1) and LAI (0.76 and 0.52) at 45 DAS in both years, respectively. In terms of yield, the cowpea–sesame system with rainwater management achieved the highest black gram equivalent yield (BGEY) across two years with an average yield of 1758 kg ha^-1. The cowpea–sesame system, with rainwater management, achieved the highest BGEY (1,758 kg ha⁻¹) over two years. Cowpea's deep roots improved soil structure and moisture retention, benefiting the following crop. Sesame’s drought tolerance, shorter duration, and higher market value further enhanced yield. This system proved the most efficient pulse legume double-cropping option for rainfed Alfisols. Adopting effective rainwater management practices was found to be beneficial in identifying new double-cropping systems for rainfed region of Alfisols.