The boys took the match very easily as we had already qualified for the Super Six stage

Wasim Akram

Pakistan were bowled out by India at Old Trafford

"We lost the toss in that match and after India scored 227-odd runs, I thought it would be easy for us," he said.

"Pakistan rarely chase under pressure and we faltered on that day too."

Justice Bhandari read to the court a letter from New Zealand umpire Doug Cowie, who officiated the Northampton game.

"Pakistan were complacent and careless," Cowie wrote.

"They seemed to be going through the motions while Bangladesh fielded, bowled and batted well."

Javed Akhtar supported

Akram also gave his support to umpire Javed Akhtar, under investigation for his role in the 1998 Headingley Test between England and South Africa.

Wasim gave his backing to umpire Akhtar

Eight leg-before decisions were given against the tourists, while England, who won by 23 runs to take the series 2-1, suffered just two.

"Maybe one or two decisions are debatable, but certainly not all of them," Akram said.

"Umpires have a split of a second to give their verdict and I don't think Javed Akhtar gave the wrong decision deliberately."

Vital statement

After Akram's testimony the commission has completed nine hearings but has found nothing to prove that the matches under investigation were fixed.

Off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq and Mushtaq Mohammad, Pakistan's coach in the tournament, are the only ones left to testify by the commission, at a date to be announced on Monday.

Justice Bhandari has a deadline of 15 January to submit his final report.

Journalist Fareshteh Gati has submitted a written statement and BBC Sport Online understands that her statement is significant for the inquiry.

Gati wrote in a newspaper article a week before the match at Northampton that the game would be fixed.

Gati is expected to reveal in her statement that former coach Javed Miandad passed her the information through a journalist friend.

Ali Bacher has so far refused to help the commission

Miandad relinquished the coach's job just 15 days before the World Cup began, alleging that matches in the Sharjah tournament that preceded it had been thrown.

But, appearing before the Bhandari commission in September, Miandad denied that the Pakistan team was involved in match-fixing.

The inquiry was set up in May this year following claims from former South African cricket chief and current World Cup 2003 director Ali Bacher that he had been told matches were fixed.

However, although he made the claims in front of South Africa's King Commission, Bacher has so far declined to appear before Bhandari commission.

Bhandari asked the registrar Kazim Ali Malik to send a fresh letter of request to the United Cricket Board of South Africa to provide any material it has regarding the allegations against Javed Akhtar.