A defeat for Qatar would have ended their World Cup hopes, but now they sit level with Japan on two points, having played one game more.

After winning the toss and opting to bowl, the Qatar team were quickly celebrating the dismissal of the Japan captain in the first over.

One became two as Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake, recalled for the injured Sabaorish Ravichandran, fell in the third over leaving Japan 17 for two.

Esam Rahman held things together for Japan, firstly with Abhishek Anand (25 off 25 balls) and later Benjamin Ito-Davis (32 off 32) as he moved to his second half century of the tournament.

Rahman struck three sixes on his way to 60 not out from 47 balls, taking Japan to 139 for four from the 20 overs.

The second innings power-play was full of drama as both openers survived chances before being dismissed cheaply by Ibby Takahashi (two for 20).

Qatar also rebuilt as Shariq Munir made 41 from 27 and at 105 for four with five overs to go, looked in a good position.

Japan came charging back however, as Ito-Davis took two wickets in the 16th over to finish with three for 28, one being a superlative catch from Declan Suzuki.

Charlie Hara-Hinze took another in the 17th and suddenly Qatar needed 32 from the last three overs.

Ultimately however, it was Qatar, ranked 28th in the world, who had enough experience to squeeze home with three wickets, and two balls to spare.

Japan will go again tomorrow, knowing that wins against UAE and Oman (on Friday) could still be enough to secure a berth at the World Cup.