He might be busy tending to a range of administrative duties, but with the bat, Sourav Ganguly provided a throwback to his imperial days when he used to hit spinners over their heads for fun. His fun, not theirs.

In the third game of the All-Stars series on Saturday at Los Angeles, Ganguly hit a half-century off 36 balls, peppered with three trademark sixes. Six years after he last played international cricket, Ganguly, noticeably rounder and, like most of the other retired stars on display, was not in the best of touch. In the second exhibition game at Houston, he made a scratchy 12, punctuated by a massive six over cover off the bowling of Jacques Kallis.

The former India captain started off tentatively in this game as well, but soon rolled back the years, thumping Andrew Symonds for two sixes down the ground. The coup-de-grace though was his six over Shane Warne – Ganguly in his elements, dancing down the pitch in perfect symmetry and then smashing Warne over his head over long-on. For a minute, everyone watch had been transported back to the 1990s.

But Warne’s Warriors still chased down Sachin Blaster’s 219 with a ball in hand, sweeping the three match series 3-0. But then, this set of matches was never about the results – it was about seeing the same legends one has grown up watching, one more time. And without doubt, Ganguly’s batting, despite its blemishes, will have delighted his massive fanbase.