Deepti Patwardhan/Rediff

New Delhi, Apr 12: Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi took India to the World Group play-offs as they won the doubles encounter against Japan and clinch the Asia Oceania round II tie 3-0 in New Delhi on Saturday.

India's top singles players Rohan Bopanna and Prakash Amritraj had come through tough five-setters on Friday.

Paes-Bhupathi survived a gutsy show by Japan's Takao Suzuki and Satoshi Iwabuchi to prevail 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and seal the tie on the second day itself.

Captain Paes had said on Friday that the ace doubles duo should be able to build on the tremendous effort of Bopanna, Amritraj on the first day but added that India could not afford to be complacent.

Paes-Bhupathi, who couldn't break through the Japanese defence in the first set, got a wake-up call after some sloppy serving in the middle of the second set saw them lose it 3-6.

But the experienced combo came up with some intelligent and aggressive tennis that had seen them rise to number one in the rankings. The team broke Iwabuchi's serve once each in the third and fourth set to carry India through.

India, who haven't featured in the World Group since 1998, last played in the World Group play-offs in 2005, when they went down 1-3 to Sweden in a rain-affected tie.