Former England wicketkeeper Paul Nixon has sparked controversy by suggesting that Pakistan deliberately lost the third ODI against India at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi on Sunday, according to a report in Times of India.

"Pakistan throwing this game away eh. Watch this space. Pakistan will just loose last few balls," Nixon tweeted after the sudden collapse of Pakistan that helped India deny a clean sweep to the visitors.

India pulled off a thrilling 10-run victory after Pakistan collapsed from 144 for six to 157 all out in the final one-day international.

When one of his followers asked Nixon whether he was claiming that the match had been rigged, the 42-year-old tweeted, "r u watching the game???"

He further retweeted several tweets, including these two: "this game is a joke especially when u see hafeez play a lap sweep with a leg slip in place" and "It must be India's 12th Man.....the Bookmaker!"

Nixon also said that it was no big deal for Pakistan to throw the final match of the series when they had already clinched the series. "2-0 up perfect to loose nothing matters," he tweeted in reply to a follower who questioned his assertion. Nixon used hashtags like #somethingnotright and #dodgey.

Nixon has played 19 ODIs and one Twenty20 international for England in 2007, including the World Cup in the Caribbean.