GIIS (Whitefield), Bengaluru hosted an Under-11 inter school cricket tournament (20-overs) called Winter Willows in February 2020 for grassroots cricket nourishment, organized at Bails Cricket ground, Dommasandra. The tournament comprised eight teams from various schools which were National Academy for Learning, Gopalan International School (two teams), Gopalan National School, Bethany High and our own three teams.

The tournament's format was league-cum-knockout. It consisted of a total of 15 matches in which each team played a minimum of three matches, thereby providing wide opportunity. There were two groups containing four teams each out of which the top two teams in each group qualified for the Semifinals. This retained interest among teams at the early and mid-stages of the tournament because even if they lost a match here, they knew they had another chance to fight back. All the teams performed remarkably well. The topper of Group A was GIIS 'A' and second position was claimed by Bethany High. In group B, Gopalan National School was first in the table and Gopalan International School followed. As a result of the semi-finals both teams from group A were knocked out. The final was between rivals Gopalan National and Gopalan International. In the end, Gopalan National claimed the trophy.

The GIIS 'A' team was billed as one of the biggest threats by all competing schools' coaches. They lived upto their reputation the league phase, including pulling of a close win against Bethany High with a boundary off the penultimate ball. However, in the first semi final, even after employing a subtle top order batting strategy against Gopalan International School 'A' they fell 13 runs short of the target of 146 and finished fourth overall in the tournament based on their Net Run Rate. The quality of their play though prompted many organisers to invite them for tournaments in the forthcoming week, however tests and exam time arrived so the sports department had to decline these for the current academic year. The GIIS 'B' and GIIS 'C' teams received good exposure by learning to applying bowling and fielding pressure against strong oppositions, which will help to form strong grassroots teams in the future.

The tournament was extremely helpful to the budding cricketers by providing a suitable atmosphere for them to improve their skills and learn more about the game. It also provided an opportunity for the media team to showcase their talents. It was a valuable experience for all those who were involved.  Special mention to the GIIS Whitefield Editorial Council and Volunteers who have covered the event with photos and reports.